2021 Internet shutdown cost Uganda Shs384.2 billion

 By Ritah Kemigisa

A tech website report has revealed that Uganda lost more than USD 109M( about Shs384. 2 billion) due to the deliberate internet shutdown by the government last year.

The government of Uganda shut down the internet on the eve of the general elections last year and until today, Facebook remains shut.

According to the Top10VPN report, the global economic cost of internet shutdowns in 2021 increased by 36% in 2020 to hit a record high of USD 5.5 billion and USD 1.9 billion in Sub Sahara Africa alone.

The report shows that Nigeria was by far the worst-hit African country losing nearly $1.5bn, second globally to politically troubled Myanmar, which lost about $2.8bn.

Ethiopia was the second-most affected country in Africa having lost around $164m, followed by Sudan on almost $152m.

The report meanwhile shows that 50 major internet outages took place in 21 countries affecting more than 480 million people.

The report further shows that Twitter was the most blocked social media platform, suffering 12,379 hours of deliberate disruption – over 60% more than Facebook.

According to the report, 75% of the outages were associated with additional human rights abuses, an increase of almost 80% compared with 2020.

Written by Noelyn Nassuuna