Gabon suspends Social Media over security concerns

Gabon’s media regulator has announced the immediate suspension of social media platforms “until further notice,” citing concerns that online content is fueling division and social instability.

The decision was disclosed in a televised statement by Jean-Claude Mendome, spokesman of the High Authority for Communication.

He said the regulator imposed “the immediate suspension of social media platforms in Gabon,” blaming the move on what he described as inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and insulting content circulating online.

According to the regulator, such content undermines human dignity, public morality, social cohesion, national security and the stability of the country’s institutions.

The authority also pointed to the spread of false information, cyberbullying and the unauthorised disclosure of personal data as contributing factors behind the suspension.

Mendome warned that these online activities could generate social conflict, destabilise state institutions and jeopardise national unity and democratic progress.

However, the regulator did not specify which social media platforms would be affected by the ban.

Despite the suspension, the authority maintained that freedom of expression, including the right to comment and criticise, remains a fundamental right enshrined in Gabon.

The development comes less than a year after President Brice Oligui Nguema was elected and amid his first significant wave of social unrest.

Teachers have been on strike since December over pay and working conditions, with similar protests spreading to other public sectors including health, higher education and broadcasting.

AFP

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