LIBREVILLE (Gabon), Feb 18 — Facebook and TikTok were inaccessible in Gabon today, AFP reporters confirmed, following an announcement by the country’s media regulator suspending the platforms over concerns about “conflict-inducing content.”
LIBREVILLE (Gabon), Feb 18 — Facebook and TikTok were inaccessible in Gabon today, AFP reporters confirmed, following an announcement by the country’s media regulator suspending the platforms over concerns about “conflict-inducing content.”
Yesterday, Gabon’s High Authority for Communication declared a suspension of social media “until further notice,” attributing the move to posts online that were fueling societal division and unrest.
Spokesman Jean-Claude Mendome, in a televised statement, said the regulator had ordered “the immediate suspension of social media platforms in Gabon.” He cited “inappropriate, defamatory, hateful, and insulting content” as threats to “human dignity, public morality, citizens’ honor, social cohesion, institutional stability, and national security.”
Mendome also pointed to “the spread of false information,” “cyberbullying,” and “unauthorised sharing of personal data” as factors behind the decision.
“These actions could, in Gabon’s context, provoke social conflict, destabilize government institutions, and seriously threaten national unity, democratic progress, and prior achievements,” he added.
The regulator did not specify which platforms were included in the ban. However, it emphasized that “freedom of expression, including the right to comment and critique,” remains “a fundamental right enshrined in Gabon.”
Less than a year into his presidency, Brice Oligui Nguema is confronting his first major wave of social unrest. Teachers have been striking over pay and working conditions since December, and protests have spread to other public sectors, including health, higher education, and broadcasting. — AFP
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