Gabon pulls plug on Facebook and TikTok amid anti-government protests

Social media platforms including Facebook and TikTok were no longer available in Gabon on Wednesday, AFP journalists and a watchdog said, after regulators suspended them over security concerns amid anti-government protests.

Interviewed by RFI, the President's spokesperson, Théophane Nzamé-Nzé-Biyoghe, explained the situation as "the continuation of several months of deliberation, necessary to initiate the debate and send a strong signal."

The opposition was quick to react. Former Prime Minister and leader of the "Together for Gabon" party, Alain-Claude Bilie-Bi-Nze, spoke of "serious violations of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution."

Online posts stoking conflict
Gabon's media regulator (HAC) on Tuesday announced "the immediate suspension of social media platforms" in the country until further notice, saying that online posts were stoking conflict, in a move branded repressive by the opposition.

"Metrics show multiple online platforms are now restricted in Gabon," connectivity monitor NetBlocks said on X on Wednesday.

According to the watchdog, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp, the most widely used social networks in Gabon, were all affected, along with YouTube and Instagram.

In a televised statement on Tuesday, HAC spokesman Jean-Claude Mendome complained of "inappropriate, defamatory, hateful, and insulting content" on social media.

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He said it was undermining "human dignity, public morality, the honour of citizens, social cohesion, the stability of the Republic's institutions, and national security".

The communications body spokesman also cited the "spread of false information", "cyberbullying" and "unauthorised disclosure of personal data" as reasons for the decision.

"These actions are likely, in the case of Gabon, to generate social conflict, destabilise the institutions of the Republic, and seriously jeopardise national unity, democratic progress, and achievements," he added.

The regulator said "freedom of expression, including freedom of comment and criticism", remained "a fundamental right enshrined in Gabon".   

In Gabon, WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok are the most widely used social media platforms.

'Climate of fear'

Less than a year after being elected, Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema has faced his first wave of social unrest, with teachers on strike and other civil servants threatening to do the same.

School teachers began striking over pay and conditions in December and protests over similar demands have since spread to other public sectors -- health, higher education and broadcasting.

Opposition leader Alain-Claude Billie-By-Nze said the social media crackdown imposed "a climate of fear and repression" in the central African state.

In an overnight post on Facebook, he called on civil groups "and all Gabonese people dedicated to freedom to mobilise and block this liberty-destroying excess".

The last action by teachers took place in 2022 under then president Ali Bongo, whose family ruled the small central African country for 55 years.

Oligui overthrew Bongo in a military coup a few months later and acted on some of the teachers' concerns, buying calm during the two-year transition period that led up to the presidential election in April 2025.

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He won that election with a huge majority, generating high expectations with promises that he would turn the country around and improve living standards.

A wage freeze decided a decade ago by the Bongo government has left teachers struggling to cope with the rising cost of living.

Authorities last month arrested two prominent figures from the teachers' protest movement, leaving teachers and parents afraid to discuss the strike in public.

 (with AFP)