Gabon\u2019s media regulator has announced the suspension of social media platforms \u201cuntil further notice\u201d, saying online content has fuelled conflict and deepened divisions in the country.<\/p>\n
In a televised statement on Tuesday evening, the High Authority for Communication (HAC) cited the \u201cspread of false information\u201d, \u201ccyberbullying\u201d and the \u201cunauthorised disclosure of personal data\u201d as reasons for the decision.<\/p>\n
Its spokesperson Jean-Claude Mendome did not specify which platforms would be affected, but WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok are popular in the country.<\/p>\n
Gabon is currently transitioning from a military coup led in 2023 by General Brice Oligui Nguema, who won last year\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n
The 50-year-old president is facing growing social unrest, with teachers and other civil servants staging strikes over pay and working conditions.<\/p>\n
Social media platforms were still accessible on Wednesday morning, but a switch-off is expected soon.<\/p>\n
Mendome\u2019s announcement has come as a shock to the central African nation of about 2.5 million people, where social media is particular popular with younger people who use it for business as well as pleasure.<\/p>\n
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a restaurant owner in the capital, Libreville, told the BBC the suspension would greatly affect his business, since he uses social media for promotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost 40% of my customers decided to order or come to the restaurant after seeing our advertising on social media\u2026 I won\u2019t be able to catch new customers, because clients are attracted by what they are seeing, reviews from friends, pictures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are entering a phase where we don\u2019t even know if we are moving forward with global development or if we are sliding backward into total underdevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, a taxi driver seemed unbothered about the move, telling the BBC: \u201cThere\u2019s no smoke without fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the authorities to take such a decision, something must have certainly prompted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nguema won last year\u2019s poll with more than 90% of the vote, two years after his coup ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family.<\/p>\n
At the time he pledged to reform Gabon, a small, oil- and timber-rich country, where digital blackouts were used by the previous governments to control information.<\/p>\n
For the first time, foreign and independent media were allowed to film the ballot count during the election.<\/p>\n
The media regulator spokesman said the suspension was prompted by the recurring dissemination on social networks and digital platforms of \u201d inappropriate, defamatory, hateful, and insulting content that undermines human dignity, social cohesion, the stability of the republic\u2019s institutions, and national security\u201d.<\/p>\n
Such actions, he said, were likely to \u201cgenerate social conflict\u201d and \u201cseriously jeopardise national unity, democratic progress, and achievements\u201d.<\/p>\n
But \u201cfreedom of expression, including freedom of comment and criticism,\u201d remained \u201ca fundamental right enshrined in Gabon\u201d, Mendome added.<\/p>\n
School teachers in Gabon began striking in December over pay and working conditions, with protests over similar grievances spreading to other public sectors, including health and education.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gabon\u2019s media regulator has announced the suspension of social media platforms \u201cuntil further notice\u201d, saying online content has fuelled conflict and deepened divisions in the country. In a televised statement on Tuesday evening, the High Authority for Communication (HAC) cited the \u201cspread of false information\u201d, \u201ccyberbullying\u201d and the \u201cunauthorised disclosure of personal data\u201d as reasons […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131376\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}