Gabon authorities have suspended access to Facebook and TikTok, citing concerns that online content could incite social conflict and destabilise state institutions.
Journalists in the capital confirmed on Wednesday that the platforms were no longer accessible, hours after the country’s media regulator announced the move.
The High Authority for Communication ordered the “immediate suspension of social media platforms in Gabon until further notice,” its spokesman, Jean-Claude Mendome, said in a televised statement.
Mendome said the decision followed the circulation of “inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and insulting content” that undermines human dignity, public morality, social cohesion and national security.
He also cited the spread of false information, cyberbullying and the unauthorised disclosure of personal data as contributing factors.
According to the regulator, such actions risk generating social conflict, destabilising the republic’s institutions and jeopardising national unity and democratic progress.
Although the suspension did not explicitly name specific platforms, Facebook and TikTok were inaccessible by Wednesday.
The regulator maintained that freedom of expression and criticism remains a fundamental right guaranteed under Gabonese law.
The development comes less than a year after President Brice Oligui Nguema assumed office and amid growing social unrest. Teachers have been on strike since December over pay and working conditions, with similar protests spreading to the health, higher education and broadcasting sectors.