Online Content Creators in Tanzania are being forced to join mainstream media by the new regulations called the Electronic and Postal Communication (online content) Regulations, 2018. It’s now official that bloggers and YouTubers in Tanzania will be regulated by Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority.
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Most bloggers in reality do not even have offices where they operate from. They prefer churning out quality content in their individual capacity. These new regulations will force those who will survive to rent offices to satisfy government regulations and not because they need them. Further, bloggers (content creators) will be forced to register as companies since they are required to provide certificate of incorporation.
This will have an impact of killing talent because the regulations are taking away the freedom associated with blogging in addition to inflating the capital required to establish a career in content creation. In fact youth who had found jobs as content creators will have their dreams shattered by these regulations.
Internet Cafes
All internet cafes in Tanzania are required by the new regulations to:
- Ensure that all computers used to access internet are issued with an IP address.
- Publish a safe internet use policy
- Filter access to prohibited content
- Install surveillance cameras to record all incidents inside the cyber café
- To access internet at an internet café, Tanzanian residents will be required to provide an ID card and get registered first. (The CCTV images and register of customers to be kept for 12 months).
PROHIBITED CONTENT
According to the regulations the following are prohibited content:
- “content which will offend viewers or encourage imitation’
- “content that leads to public disorder”
- Crude references to sexual intercourse and sexual organs
APPLICATION AND FEES
To be a content creator in Tanzania, you have to fill an application form and pay licensing fees as shown in the extracted Second Schedule from the regulations:
