On the evening of February 17th, 2026, Gabon’s High Communications Authority announced, in a statement read on the state channel Gabon 1ère, the immediate suspension of social media across the country until further notice. Facebook and TikTok, the two platforms most used by Gabonese citizens, became inaccessible the very next morning. Six months later, a measure originally presented as exceptional and temporary is still in force, with no clear timeline for a return to normal.
In its initial statement, the authority justified the decision by pointing to the recurring spread on social media of content it described as inappropriate, defamatory, hateful, insulting and harmful to human dignity, public morals, personal reputation, social cohesion, institutional stability and national security. The regulator also cited the spread of false information, cyberbullying and the unauthorized disclosure of personal data, while criticizing what it called the indifference shown by the platforms involved. More specifically, the authority accused certain activists of misusing these platforms to damage the reputation of institutions, Gabonese citizens and public figures.
The presidency later shifted its messaging toward child protection. A deputy spokesperson for the presidency described young Gabonese as increasingly exposed, through Facebook and TikTok, to pornographic or even child sexual abuse material, as well as violent content harming their mental stability. Framed as a temporary course correction, the measure was presented by authorities as part of a broader vision for a New Gabon, one oriented toward digital sovereignty among other priorities.
This drastic suspension did not emerge in a vacuum. Since the start of 2026, Gabon’s leadership had been facing growing social unrest, illustrated in particular by a teachers strike that paralyzed parts of the education system for more than a month. For President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who took power in a 2023 coup before being elected with more than 90 percent of the vote in April 2025, social media was seen as fueling this capacity to disrupt governance, marking the first wave of social contestation of his term.
Facing criticism, the government gradually sketched out a possible way forward. On April 1st, 2026, Communications Minister Germain Biahodjow told a press conference that a lifting of the suspension was indeed planned, though he specified that restoration would happen gradually. He called on citizens to show responsibility in how they would use social media going forward, describing the restriction period as an opportunity to underline the balance between free expression and collective responsibility in the use of digital platforms.
Nearly four months later, on July 29th, 2026, one concrete step was announced, the removal of more than 23,500 pieces of content deemed problematic by TikTok. Yet despite this development, no official prospect of a full lifting of the suspension has been formally communicated to date. The until further notice language from February 17th remains, six months on, essentially unchanged.
For several local observers, this prolonged situation fits into a broader pattern of states of exception that have followed one another in Gabon since 2023. The general elections held that year were already marked by an internet shutdown, before a curfew imposed after the August 30th coup was maintained until December 2024. After nearly two years of health related restrictions tied to the pandemic, followed by two years of measures linked to the political context, several months of social media suspension now extend this ongoing succession of exceptional regimes.
While security concerns remain a legitimate priority for many, the central question increasingly raised is one of proportionality and duration. In a state governed by the rule of law, exceptions are meant to remain temporary, transparent and accompanied by a clear timeline for returning to normal, a level of visibility that continues to be missing. For the opposition, this extended suspension risks setting a dangerous precedent for the country’s democratic achievements. Other voices, particularly within civil society, have also warned about the economic toll of such a measure, noting that social media has become a vast marketplace for goods and services in Gabon, one whose paralysis affects a significant share of the country’s social and economic activity.
Gabon’s case, notable as it is for its duration, is far from isolated on the continent. According to a book coedited by digital rights advocate Felicia Anthonio and researcher Tony Roberts, 193 internet shutdowns were recorded across 41 African countries between 2016 and 2024, a trend the authors describe as growing, most often occurring during elections or periods of protest. Gabon thus illustrates, in its own way, a wider debate playing out across the continent, how to reconcile a legitimate fight against digital abuses with the preservation of fundamental freedoms in the age of social media.