Facebook has remained blocked for close to 2 years now, having been blocked during the controversial 2021 General elections.
It was closed after Ugandan government accused Facebook for failing to control hate speech, lies and divisions amongst people based on partisan linings.
Additionally, it is further believed that the governments move to block Facebook was after the social media giant deleted accounts of ruling party (NRM) publicity supporters towards elections something that gave members of the opposition parties more mileage on the app.
According to UCC - the body that regulates communication in Uganda, the app will be opened as soon as Facebook resolves outstanding issues as per their initial discussions on the matter. The delays are on the apps side - Irene Kaggwa Ssewankambo, the Executive Director UCC said.
During this time when Facebook has been blocked, most users resorted to accessing it using VPN whereas a notable section of users simply gave up on the app.
Businesses were affected most with this ban in Uganda. Having been the most used platform in Uganda, most people advertised from there. It now dropped to fourth. Tens of thousands businesses use Facebook business pages to promote their products. Most affected are large scale companies.
Alternative after ban was other social platforms like tiktok, whatsap and Instagram
The ban did not solve the political reason of why it was banned because people resorted to other platforms to spread the same content like they shared on Facebook
Expectation on lifting ban is people moving back to using Facebook for their businesses. It will also cut internet costs because accessing the app using VPN consumes more data bundles.
According to data published in Metas advertising resources, Facebook had 2.50 million users in Uganda as of early 2022.
