Overview
- The High Authority for Communication announced an immediate nationwide halt to social media use until further notice in a statement read on state media Tuesday night.
- NetBlocks reported restrictions affecting Meta services, YouTube and TikTok, while a Reuters witness saw Facebook, Instagram and X still reachable Wednesday afternoon, and AP reported disruptions to WhatsApp calls and messaging.
- The regulator said platforms and activists were spreading inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and abusive content that threatens institutions and national security, with no specific triggering posts identified by reporters.
- Rights advocates say the move fits a pattern of shrinking civic space since Oligui Nguema’s 2023 coup and his 2025 election, noting prosecutions that included a journalist and two trade unionists last year.
- Civil society warned the cutoff will stifle commerce and daily life, a concern amplified by Gabon’s debt pressures, liquidity constraints and heavy reliance on imports.