Social Media Blackout in Gabon Sparks Outrage
Gabon social media ban blocks 5 major platforms amid rising unrest. The internet shutdown raises national security and free speech concerns.
Gabon's media regulator has announced the suspension of social media platforms "until further notice," saying online content has fueled discord and deepened divisions in the country.
In a televised statement on Tuesday evening, the High Authority for Communication (HAC) cited "spreading misinformation," "cyberbullying," and "unauthorized disclosure of personal data" as reasons for the decision.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported that by Wednesday afternoon, several online platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and WhatsApp, had been blocked.
Gabon is led by General Brice Oulégui Nguema, who won last year's presidential election after leading a coup that will extend his presidency to 2023.
The 50-year-old president is facing growing social discontent, with teachers and government employees staging strikes over wages and working conditions.
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According to NetBlocks, most internet providers had blocked access to social media platforms, although its data showed that Gabon Telecom, the country's largest telecom firm, was allowing very limited access. The HAC's announcement comes as a blow to the Central African country of about 2.5 million people, where social media is particularly popular among young people who use it for business as well as pleasure.
A restaurant owner in the capital, Libreville, who asked not to be named, told that the suspension would severely impact his business, as he uses social media for promotion.
"About 40% of my customers decided to order or visit our restaurant after seeing our advertisement on social media... I won't be able to attract new customers because customers rely on what they see, reviews from friends, photos," he said.
"We are entering a period where we don't even know if we are keeping up with global development or if we are falling completely behind."
"For the authorities to make such a decision, something must have prompted them to do so."
Nguema won last year's election with over 90% of the vote, two years after his coup that ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family.
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At the time, he promised reforms in Gabon, a small, oil- and timber-rich country where previous governments used digital blackouts to control information.
For the first time, foreign and independent media were allowed to film the ballot count during the election.
Jean-Claude Mendome, a spokesperson for the media regulator, said the suspension was due to the repeated spread of "false, defamatory, hateful, and insulting content on social networks and digital platforms that undermines human dignity, social harmony, the stability of the Republic's institutions, and national security."
He added that such actions could "generate social conflict" and "seriously threaten national unity, democratic progress, and achievements."
But Mendome added that "freedom of expression, including the freedom to comment and criticize," remains "a fundamental right in Gabon."
School teachers in Gabon began striking in December over salaries and working conditions, and protests over similar grievances have spread to other public sectors, including health and education.
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