Gabon moves to suspend social media over unrest and misinformation concerns

Gabon’s media regulator, the High Authority for Communication (HAC), has announced the suspension of social media platforms “until further notice”, citing online misinformation and social tensions.

HAC spokesperson Jean-Claude Mendome said the suspension was prompted by the recurring dissemination on social networks and digital platforms of ” inappropriate, defamatory, hateful, and insulting content that undermines human dignity, social cohesion, the stability of the republic’s institutions, and national security”.

Such actions, he said, were likely to “generate social conflict” and “seriously jeopardise national unity, democratic progress, and achievements”.

While platforms were not specified, services such as WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok are widely used across Gabon.

The decision comes amid rising unrest under President Brice Oligui Nguema, following strikes by teachers and civil servants over pay and working conditions.

Nguema won last year’s poll with more than 90% of the vote, two years after his coup ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family.

ℹ️ BBC News