Gabon’s media regulator has ordered the suspension of social media platforms across the country “until further notice”, citing concerns that online content is fueling tensions and deepening divisions.
In a televised address on Tuesday evening, the High Authority for Communication (HAC) said the decision was taken in response to the spread of false information, cyberbullying, and the unauthorised sharing of personal data on digital platforms.
Internet monitoring organisation NetBlocks reported that by Wednesday afternoon several major platforms had been restricted, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and WhatsApp.
Gabon is currently led by Brice Oligui Nguema, who won last year’s presidential election after leading a coup in 2023. The 50-year-old leader is facing growing social unrest, with teachers and civil servants staging strikes over pay and working conditions.
According to NetBlocks, most internet service providers in the country had blocked access to the affected platforms. However, its data showed that Gabon Telecom, the country’s largest telecommunications company, was still allowing very limited access.
The announcement has come as a shock in the Central African nation of around 2.5 million people, where social media is particularly popular among younger generations. Many rely on these platforms not only for communication and entertainment but also for business activities.
A restaurant owner in the capital, Libreville, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said the suspension would seriously harm his business.
“Almost 40% of my customers decide to order or visit the restaurant after seeing our adverts on social media,” he said. “I won’t be able to attract new customers anymore, because people are influenced by what they see online—reviews from friends, photos, and shared experiences.”
He added: “We are entering a phase where we don’t even know whether we are moving forward with global development or sliding backwards into complete underdevelopment.”
Not everyone, however, expressed concern about the move. A taxi driver in Libreville told the BBC he was not troubled by the shutdown.
“There’s no smoke without fire,” he said. “For the authorities to take such a decision, something must have certainly prompted it.”
Nguema won last year’s election with more than 90% of the vote, two years after his coup ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family. At the time, he pledged to reform Gabon, a country rich in oil and timber, where previous governments frequently used digital blackouts as a tool to control the flow of information.
During the election, foreign and independent media were, for the first time, allowed to film the ballot count.
HAC spokesperson Jean-Claude Mendome said the suspension followed repeated dissemination on social media and digital platforms of what he described as “inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and insulting content”.
Such material, he said, undermines human dignity, social cohesion, the stability of state institutions and national security. He warned that these actions could generate social conflict and seriously threaten national unity, democratic progress and recent achievements.
Mendome stressed, however, that freedom of expression—including the right to comment and criticise—remains a fundamental right protected under Gabonese law.
The social media suspension comes against the backdrop of mounting labour unrest. School teachers began striking in December over pay and working conditions, with protests over similar issues spreading to other public sectors, including health and education.
