Ben-LIVE

I have seen UCC’s (@UCC_Official ) list of supposedly illegal online content providers, and I think this approach deserves serious scrutiny. Uganda has a youth unemployment problem. Thousands of young people are turning to YouTube and other digital platforms to create jobs for themselves, build audiences, develop businesses and earn a living where the formal economy has failed to absorb them. Instead of asking how to help this emerging industry grow, @UCC_Official appears more interested in licensing it into submission. Let’s get practical. YouTube is not a television station that a Ugandan creator has established. It is a global platform built and operated outside Uganda. A young Ugandan opens an account, buys a camera, creates content, builds an audience and hopes to earn something. Does @UCC_Official understand the economics of this business? What happens when I have 500 subscribers, make videos consistently but earn absolutely nothing? What licence am I supposed to pay for? With what money? What if I never qualify for YouTube monetisation? Am I still expected to pay regulatory fees for a business that generates zero revenue? Taxation and licensing cannot be approached as though every person who uploads a video is running a profitable media company. And here is another question for UCC: What is your standard for foreign media and international content platforms that Ugandans consume every day? Millions of Ugandans watch international television through pay-TV services such as DStv, as well as foreign streaming platforms. How effectively are local content obligations enforced across these services? What opportunities are being created for independent Ugandan producers? Uganda’s 2019 Content Regulations require free-to-air operators to carry at least 70% local content. That is a useful starting point, but what about the wider pay-TV ecosystem and the international content competing for Ugandan audiences? Why should a young Ugandan content creator face a licensing crackdown before we have had an honest conversation about the unequal conditions in this industry? UCC, regulating an industry and suffocating its growth are two different things. If your objective is to promote local content, start by making it easier for Ugandans to produce, distribute and monetise it. Develop affordable, transparent and proportionate rules. Distinguish between hobbyists, small creators, independent publishers and established commercial broadcasters. Publish clear answers on licensing thresholds, fees, exemptions for non-monetised creators and the legal basis for classifying individual YouTube accounts as illegal providers. You cannot claim to support the digital economy while creating barriers for the very young people trying to participate in it. The question is simple: Are you building an environment where Ugandan creators can compete, or are you making it harder for them to survive?