African group supports regulation of over-the-top services at ITU plenipot

The African regional group under the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) proposed a resolution on the regulation of over-the-top services during the recently concluded Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). African countries such as Uganda, Zambia, and Benin have implemented social media taxes to protect local companies from competition posed by Internet telephony and social media services. In line with the resolution, Kenya is exploring the regulation of the services. Other issues where the African group had a common position during the plenipotentiary were cybersecurity, Internet governance, counterfeit devices and the Internet of Things.