Gabon Ends 8-Month Social Media Ban After Widespread Outcry
The High Authority for Communication (HAC) announced the reversal in a statement on Saturday. It had imposed the ban in February on WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, among other major platforms, citing online abuse.
“The HAC has decided to lift the suspension of social media platforms,” spokesman Jean Claude Mendome said in the statement.
Why the ban was imposed
The regulator had accused users of spreading defamatory, hateful, false and insulting content, and said such material threatened national security and social cohesion. Mendome said the suspension aimed to “allow the government to adapt its legal framework to better regulate social media,” he added.
The shutdown came as anti-government protests over the high cost of living were under way. Activists condemned it as an assault on internet freedom. Thousands of citizens reportedly turned to virtual private networks (VPNs) to get around the restrictions.
Tech talks and a call for restraint
Mendome said the decision followed direct talks with major international technology companies on ways to improve content moderation on their platforms.
HAC also urged users to be “more responsible and mature in their online exchanges and behaviors, in order to contribute to a healthier, more constructive digital environment that is more respectful of the rights of others.”
A new regulation passed in February requires social media users to submit verified names, addresses and ID numbers.
Political backdrop
Gabon is led by Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, who seized power in a 2023 coup that ended 55 years of rule by the Bongo family. He won a presidential election in April but faced a wave of social unrest less than a year later.
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