Uganda: Authorities further ease certain election-related internet restrictions as of Feb. 10

Event

As of Feb. 10, authorities in Uganda further eased certain internet restrictions that had been implemented ahead of the nation's Jan. 14 elections. Access has been restored to many social media sites that had earlier been blocked; access to some such sites, including at least one major platform, remains suspended, however. It remains unclear when the ban will be completely lifted and full service restored. Authorities could impose new internet restrictions at any time.

Context

In the run up to the country's January general elections, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) ordered internet service providers to block all services, including social media sites and online messaging platforms. Although access to the internet itself was restored a few days after the polls, a blackout on social media and messaging applications remained in place. The UCC claimed the decision to block social media overall was in response to at least one major platform's shutdown of some government accounts; the platform in question asserted that the suspended governmental entities had been using falsified accounts to manipulate the flow of information during the election period. Opposition leaders accused the government of shutting down social media and web-based messaging services in order to prevent the dissemination of evidence of election fraud.