Gabon lifts eight-month social media ban
Gabon's media regulator has announced the end of a social media ban in the central African country after eight months. The ban, imposed on 17 February, drew widespread criticism.
Gabon's High Communication Authority (HAC), the country's media regulator, announced in a televised statement on Saturday that it is lifting a social media ban that had been in force for eight months. Gabon is a central African nation of about 2.5 million people. The BBC has approached the regulator for comment.
The ban was introduced on 17 February. At the time, the HAC said online content was fuelling conflict and deepening divisions in society. The decision drew widespread criticism.
Impact on residents
Platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram are particularly popular among young people in Gabon, who use them for both leisure and business. After the ban took effect, many turned to VPNs to keep accessing social media sites.
Political background
The ban came while President Brice Oligui Nguema was facing a wave of social unrest, less than a year after his election. Teachers and civil servants had held strikes over what they described as low pay and poor working conditions. The opposition called the suspension an abuse of power.
Nguema won last year's election with more than 90% of the vote, two years after the coup he led ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family. He pledged to reform Gabon, a small country rich in oil and timber, where previous governments used digital blackouts to control information.
