Lebanon: Protests erupt after a move to tax calls on messaging apps

Hours after the Lebanese Cabinet promptly passed a local tax on WhatsApp calls and associated services, Lebanese’ grown frustration erupted as they took to the streets to decry the deteriorating state of economic affairs. 

Local protesters barred roads crossed Lebanon with flaming tyres, broadcasts showed, properly expressing fierce anger at the political elite. 

The demonstrations have been fuelled by stagnant economic circumstances worsened by a financial disaster in one of the world‘s most massively indebted states. Demonstrations exploded in the capital Beirut, in its southern suburbs, in the southern city of Sidon, in the northern city of Tripoli and in the Bekaa Valley, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Earlier, the Cabinet had uncovered a new revenue-raising bill, mutually agreeing on a charge of 20 cents per day for calls via voice over internet protocol (VoIP), used by applications including Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Facebook calls and FaceTime, Information Minister Jamal al-Jarrah stated.

But as protests spread across Lebanon, Telecoms Minister Mohamed Choucair phoned into Lebanese broadcasters to say the proposed levy on WhatsApp calls had been revoked.