For the past decade, Uganda has witnessed tremendous growth in the ICT sector, with the expansion of ICT applications and services including information generation and dissemination, mobile money, and innovative mobile apps – particularly in the agriculture and health sectors.
The ICT policy and regulatory environment has also evolved from a focus on promoting widespread access of ICTs to a focus on management of computer/mobile usage and internet freedoms.
Examples of Uganda’s ICT policies and regulations include the National ICT Policy (2003), Access to Information Act (2005), National Information Technology Authority Uganda Act (2009), Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (2010), Electronic Signatures Act(2010), Computer Misuse Act (2011), Electronic Transactions Act (2011), and Uganda Communications Commission Act (2013).
The government through its repressive laws like Regulation of Interception of Communications Act (RIC Act, 2010) provides for “lawful interception and monitoring of certain communications in the course of their transmission through a telecommunication, postal or any other related service or system in Uganda. This law has been used to violate the online privacy of Ugandans violating the freedom of speech in the process.
Additionally, cyber-attacks against citizens increased as more Ugandans embraced the new methods of working and conducting businesses digitally.
According to the Africa Cyber Security Outlook 2022 report by KPMG, there has been a spike in digital security breaches, most notably in the financial services industry putting the data privacy of digital users at risk. On the human rights front, the government has clamped down on freedom of speech via social media channels. Surveillance technologies like spyware have been used to arbitrarily arrest human rights defenders.
