SOME BLOGGERS POCKET OVER 140M/- ANNUAL REVENUES

• The regulation intends to promote safe use and competition not obstructing blogging

By Derek Murusuri, Analyst

Dar Es Salaam, 16-4-2018: GLOBAL TV is one of the online platforms in Tanzania with high-tech equipment, unconventional facilities and high performance than some of the registered radio and television stations in Tanzania.

It is a web based TV, popularly referred to as blog. 

This Tanzanian online television which is equipped with ultra modern studio equipment and facilities has correspondents across the other side of Atlantic, the United States.

Attributed as one of the serious and highly performing blogs in Tanzania, Global TV is housed in a three-storey posh premise, formerly Johannesburg Hotel around Sinza in Dar Es Salaam. The investment is massive and by all means impressive for this emerging online market.

Another online Television operator, Ayo TV, would travel not only in and around Tanzania to cover major topical stories but also goes all the way to foreign countries for major eventful news.

Recognizing Issa Michuzi - World’s largest Swahili Blogger and global language promoter

Tanzania proudly hosts Michuzi Blog, the world’s largest Swahili blog, founded by a highly skilled, creative, gifted and successful photojournalist, Muhiddin Issa Michuzi. The blog covers a range of issues and events happening in and around the world for the Swahili audience.

The blog is credited for promoting Swahili globally, more than any other blog ever in this world. Who knows, perhaps Face book was influenced by Michuzi Blog.

BAKITA, a Tanzania Kiswahili Council and Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) should consider recognizing Mr. Michuzi for his outstanding commitment to promote Swahili globally. He is known as the father of blogs.

Blogs in Tanzania pay. It is because of that investments in flow in its direction. Mike Mushi, a co-founder of Jamii Forums (JF) and Fikra Pevu, a popular online Swahili platform, admitted that the bloggers in Tanzania sell advertising space, in his interview with the Citizen.

JF itself is a recipient of generous foreign grants to meet the Forum’s technical and infrastructural needs.

Average Blogger earns more than 10M/- advertising revenue per month

Typically, an average hard working blogger would garner home an estimated 10M/- (US$4,429) or more. “Most [bloggers] will lose advertisers since they are not legally registered,” Mr. Mushi admitted. This response to The Citizen testifies that the bloggers have advertising income which powers them up.

Revenues are not so much an issue to serious entrepreneurial bloggers. “Bloggers, despite operating without registration, they pose stiff competition to the mainstream media which paid assorted fees and had other running costs.

Most TV viewers, radio listeners and newspaper readership in Tanzania increasingly resort to online platforms instead of the mainstream media not only because the new media were miniaturist and user-friendly, but also the degree of feedback is often immediate and kept records for future reference.

TBN members clash over revenue streams

Krantz Mwantepele, Secretary-General of Tanzania Bloggers Network (TBN) would need to review his understanding and enrich his knowledge to reflect the reality on the ground. The blogs were too competitive to be left on the back seat. The emerging opportunities on online platforms were immense and it is increasingly becoming a media of choice to many young people who account to over 60 per cent of the Tanzania population.

Mr. Mwantepele was quoted by the Citizen newspaper, when registering his sentiment about the fees introduced by the online regulations on application and annual subscriptions.

He feared that many bloggers, such as those mentioned above, would not afford the fees. These fears were not based on an objective analysis; in fact he may have either lacked the facts or concealed them. Mike Mushi allayed the fears and hinted on bloggers’ adverts revenue stream.  

There were distortions on the fees. The exaggeration went viral, claiming that Tanzania was on its way to kill bloggers with a hefty fee amounting to US$930 paid before a blogger continued to operate. This was misinformation. It is skewed journalism. It is unethical reporting because it is utterly lies.  

Journalists were trained to report the truth, accurately and balanced. The school of journalism teaches to know enough before making a decision to write and publish. Sadly, the author of the misleading article missed all the three.

The figure quoted had exposed the author of lacking professionalism to find out the truth. It is untrue, inaccurate, subjective and misleading.

Bloggers pay 1,100,000/- (US$487) for the first year, not US$930

“A blogger would only pay a registration fee of 100,000/- (US$44) and an initial fee of 1,000,000/- (US$443), therefore, to operate, a blogger would only have to pay 1,100,000/- (US$487) that lasts the whole year (12 months) of service,” James Kilaba, TCRA Director General clarified.

TCRA stands for Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, The Government’s regulatory agency for all forms of electronic and postal communications. 

“Once the registration fee of 100,000/- (US$44) and initial fees of 1,000,000/- (US$443) were paid, the blogger will again visit TCRA cashier to make their annual fees after 12 months,” said Ms Fortunata Mdachi, Acting TCRA Director for Legal Services.

Not until a publication of the Electronic and Postal Communications (online Content) Regulations were gazetted in 2018 through Government notice No. 133 on 16 March 2018, the bloggers were unregulated in Tanzania.

“The regulations were in no way aimed to muzzle free speech in Tanzania but to identify operators in the industry for helping to ensure the content is appropriate for consumption, thereby creating a secured online operating environment for everyone,” said Phillip Filikunjombe, a Senior Legal Officer at TCRA.

Dr Mwakyembe: Online Content should appreciate our cultural sensitivities and ethics

The Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe reiterated that online content providers should appreciate trends and cultural sensitivities of the general public which included our national interests.

He said a licensee of online radio and television intended for broadcasting over the public internet shall now abide by the regulations governing the broadcasting services and adhere to [journalism] professional ethics.

Dr Mwakyembe reminded shared the German’s resolve in passing a legislation that ensured that the rules that apply in the real world, equally enforceable in the digital world.

The current Federal Minister for Foreign affairs Heiko Maas, said, “With this law, we put an end to the verbal law of the jungle on the Internet and protect the freedom of expression for all.”

It is generally acknowledged that the internet is ubiquitous. Laws and regulations were placed to serve the needs of a respective society. What is right to us could be wrong to the United Kingdom.

A good example is drawn from smoking cannabis which is prohibited in Tanzania but in the UK, the drug has been re-classified from B to C. Possession of the drug would not lead to arrests in most cases, instead, the police will give an on-the-spot warning and confiscate the drug.

Other nations relaxed the drug laws with a view to helping sick people. These were countries such as Australia, Puerto Rico, Poland, Czech Republic, Canada, Croatia and Macedonia; some forms of cannabis are legal for medicinal purposes. In Turkey, its cultivation is legal for the same purposes.

Landmark Online Content Law in German

Germany’s Parliament early this year passed a landmark law to hold Internet companies accountable for illegal, racist, slanderous material on their social media platforms, requiring them to remove such content within a specified timeframe, or face fines up to 50 million euro.

Former German Justice Minister Heiko Maas, the driving force behind the legislation, declared that “freedom of speech ends where the criminal law begins”.

Maas who is now Federal Minister for Foreign affairs, had said the legislation intended to make the rules that apply in the real world, equally enforceable in the digital world. In Tanzania, some of the rules in the current regulations were in the penal code.

Dr Killimbe: The regulation  does not intend to obstruct but to promote competition in the industry

Dr Jones Killimbe, TCRA Board Chairman, says there were a lot of misinformation in the social media. He said by creating a level playing field, TCRA introduces regulation in order to promote competition.

“The regulation does not obstruct or impede development of social media but promoting the industry by creating a level playing field,” he emphasizes.

Dr Killimbe calls on all stakeholders to enhance awareness campaign so that the benefits of the online regulation were appreciated by everyone in the industry.

EU intervenes to protect its citizens, Calls Zuckerberg to speak in Parliament

In Brussels, the European Union (EU) raised concerns about the social media business. EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova announced to have held a “constructive and open discussion” with Face book Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg about the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In this scandal, data of some 87 million users were improperly accessed by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which worked on U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign. Zuckerberg would also appear before the European Parliament.

This happens after the US Senate and House lawmakers quizzed Zuckerberg for about 10 hours in two days. The new legislation to change how the social network does business is in the offing.

For the past 14 years, Zuckerberg freely used any means he could imagine to build his social network into an internet and advertising platform with tens of billions of dollars in revenue. This signaled a new era of government scrutiny of Face book which had outpaced any regulations.

Countries that regulate online content include Australia, Malaysia, Kenya and Singapore. Other countries were Dubai, China and Egypt. In the EU, UK is working on the regulations.

The author is a business journalist, media and business consultant based in Dar Es Salaam. 0787 17 67 67, derekmurusuri@gmail.com

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