We Care Initiative launched by GSMA in response to online child protection

Kenya’s mobile operators, regulator and government recently came together to support a major GSMA initiative aimed at ensuring a safe online environment for children and young citizens in Kenya. The Charter is backed by the Communications Authority (CA) of Kenya and the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. We Care was launched in Latin America …

Survey: Internet Connectivity Builds Positive Impact on Life in Sub-Saharan Africa

In a new Pew Research Center analysis, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced dramatic gains in internet use in recent years. With this rapid growth in connectivity have come a host of potential problems, including fake news, political targeting and manipulation and financial scams, among others. Yet according to the Pew Research Center analysis, most sub-Saharan Africans …

Africa registry launches gateway system for domain names in Africa

Africa Registry, part of the CentralNic Group, announced a new programme from its gateway service RRPproxy to empower domain name vendors, registrars and resellers in Africa. The domains are to be sold using over 1,000 TLDs, and to benefit from a $50 free credit for all new accounts. Africa Registry stated: “African companies selling domain …

Benin joins Uganda and Zambia as the latest African nation taxing the internet

Benin has joined a fray and growing list of African states imposing spurious taxes on citizens for using the internet. The government passed a decree in late August taxing its citizens for accessing the internet and social-media apps. The directive, first proposed in July, institutes a fee (link in French) of 5 CFA francs ($0.008) per megabyte consumed …

Black Coffee Creating Gong Box, a Streaming App for left out African Artists

GongBox is a music platform, similar to Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and the like. But it’s tailored for an African market. “If you think about how these products [Apple Music, Spotify etc.] are constructed,” says Simukayi Mukuna, a member of Soulistic Music, who is explaining the technicalities of the app today, “the product team lives …

Uganda passes strange law to impose a controversial tax on WhatsApp and Facebook ‘to stop gossip’

Uganda’s parliament has passed a law to impose a controversial tax on people using social media platforms. The new Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill will also impose various other taxes, including a 1% levy on the total value of mobile money transactions – which civil society groups complain will affect poorer Ugandans who rarely use banking …