Lebanon may become the first country to charge for WhatsApp use

Between 2017 and 2018, telecom revenues dropped by 33 percent, which the ministry of telecommunications believe is because of residents using WhatsApp to make calls instead of making traditional telephone calls.

During a cabinet session on Wednesday, the prospect of charging for WhatsApp calls, which could mount to a monthly charge of $6 if the phone user made a WhatsApp call every day, Lebanese media reported.

WhatsApp users would be charged a flat rate of $0.20 daily if they make a phone call in a country that already has one of the most expensive mobile rates in the region.

Officials predict this will secure an annual revenue of $216 million for Lebanon's government, already under fire for financial corruption.

The reported proposal sparked outrage by politicians and celebrities online.

Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama lambasted the proposal, calling on politicians to "impose a tax on the polluted air the people are breathing".

Member of Parliament Paula Yacoubian snubbed the proposal, suggesting to focus more on internal corruption.

"The people will not pay a single [Lebanese] pound on the platform it insults you [politicians] on," she said.

"Get the money by stopping your [suspicious] deals that you refer to as projects. The money of the Bisri Dam should be invested in electricity which has a $2 billion annual deficit," Yacoubian tweeted.

'Government, parliament... thieves'

Last month, hundreds of people protested in Beirut on Sunday over increasingly difficult living conditions, amid fears of a dollar shortage and possible price hikes.