Ugandan regulator seeks improved African regulation of OTT social media services
October 21st 2019
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is proposing improved regulation of over-the-top services (OTT) such as Facebook and Twitter to encourage investment in the sector, the Monitor reported. At an international preparatory meeting, the UCC proposed that African countries should take a stand on OTT matters. It said while Africa is a net user of OTT services, regulators are hard pressed to protect consumers, personal data, pricing.
OTT revenue flows remain skewed against African mobile network operators and infrastructure providers, UCC argued in a statement. Irene Kaggwa, the UCC director for engineering and communication infrastructure who chaired the meeting, said the commission is cognisant that mobile network operators and infrastructure providers are a means to an end for OTTs but a balance should be struck regarding competition between the two.
The UCC argues that standards need to be incorporated to determine how regulators censor fair competition, which Kaggwa said includes for calls and text messaging via OTT providers, which continue to compete with the traditional voice calls and text messaging services.
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