Gabon suspends social media platforms for spreading fake information

Gabon has suspended some social media platforms, citing concerns that posts could undermine social cohesion and threaten the stability of institutions and national security.

The country’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) ordered the immediate suspension “until further notice,” without specifying which platforms were affected.

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said on Wednesday that access to Meta services, YouTube, and TikTok was now restricted in Gabon.

Facebook, Instagram, and X remained accessible as of Wednesday afternoon, Reuters reported.

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The HAC said the digital platforms and activists are violating Gabonese law by spreading “inappropriate, defamatory, hateful and abusive” content online.

Civil society member Nicaise Moulombi said the suspension “amounts to paralysing a significant part of the country’s economic and social activity in a context already marked by unemployment and the cost of living.”

“Social networks are no longer mere tools for entertainment, they have become instruments of work, citizen expression, commerce, innovation, and even democratic mobilisation,” Moulombi added.

The Star