Privacy at stake as Uganda targets telecom users in bid to stop crime
A Sim card registration exercise in Uganda. The government is putting pressure on telcos to obtain subscribers’ personal data. PHOTO | ALEX ESAGALA | NMG
In its efforts to stem nonstop crime in the country, the Ugandan government through the communications sector regulator, is putting pressure on telcos to obtain subscribers’ personal data, and also wants direct access to their private communications — a move widely seen as an infringement on citizens rights.
The government through the Uganda Communications Commission is also pushing telcos, at their cost, to create links to the National Identification and Regulatory Authority (NIRA) — the body that maintains the National Identification Register.
