US Edition
Gabon Suspends Social Media Amid Unrest and Strikes
Gabon’s media regulator suspended Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram citing hateful content and risks to national unity, affecting a population of about 2.5 million.
- HAC spokesman Jean-Claude Mendome announced Tuesday that the High Authority for Communication imposed an indefinite suspension of social media platforms in Gabon, while NetBlocks confirmed Wednesday that Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and WhatsApp are restricted.
- The HAC argued the move addressed the spread of false information, cyberbullying, and unauthorised disclosure of personal data threatening national institutions and public order.
- Data show users sought circumvention as Google Trends registered rising VPN searches on Tuesday evening and Proton VPN reported usage up 8,000%, while Access Now's Felicia Anthonio disputed the blocks' rationale and urged using OONI Probe to document restrictions.
- WhatsApp calls experienced significant disruptions on Wednesday, constraining voice communication for affected users across Gabon as AFP and other reporting agencies confirmed outages.
- The move comes amid cost-of-living and teachers' strikes that began in December, with critics saying it fits a pattern of clamping down as President Brice Oligui Nguema faces unrest in Gabon, population about 2.5 million, risking harm to small businesses and younger social-media users.
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86 Articles
This cut comes at a time when Brice Oligui Nguema, who came to the head of the country by a coup d'état in 2023 and elected president last year, is confronted with the first wave of social protest against his mandate.
Gabon Pulls Plug On Facebook and TikTok Amid Anti-Government Protests
Social media platforms including Facebook and TikTok were no longer available in Gabon on Wednesday, AFP journalists and a watchdog said, after regulators suspended them over security concerns amid anti-government protests.
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2.5 million: The population of Gabon who can no longer get onto certain social media platforms, like YouTube and TikTok, after the government suspended access on Tuesday. The government said that the platforms were spreading “hateful and abusive” content online, but it comes as the oil-producing African state faces growing protests over high costs of living.8: The number of parliamentary elections Bulgaria will have held in almost five years onc…
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