Gabon has restored access to major social media platforms after an eight-month suspension that drew widespread criticism from opposition politicians and civil society groups.
The country’s High Communication Authority (HAC) announced the decision on Saturday, ending restrictions imposed on February 17 over concerns that online content was fuelling social tensions and deepening divisions.
“The HAC has decided to lift the suspension of social media platforms,” the authority’s spokesman, Jean-Claude Franck Mendome, said in a statement read on television.
The ban affected major platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, while access to WhatsApp was intermittent. The restrictions were introduced amid growing social unrest during President Brice Oligui Nguema’s first year in office.
Although the government defended the shutdown as necessary to address harmful online content, the measure triggered criticism over freedom of expression and access to information.
The HAC had said the suspension would “allow the government to adapt its legal framework to better regulate social media”.
As part of the new regulatory approach, social media users are now required to provide formal identification, a measure that effectively ends online anonymity under the country’s rules.
The regulator also disclosed that it was engaging with Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok and YouTube, to improve content moderation on the platforms.
Despite the restrictions, some Gabonese users continued accessing social media through virtual private networks (VPNs). VPN provider Proton reported a 60,000 per cent increase in downloads of its VPN tool on the day after the ban took effect.
Opposition figures condemned the suspension as an abuse of power, arguing that it undermined democratic freedoms and restricted citizens’ ability to express their views.
Former Prime Minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze was among the most vocal critics of the policy. He has been in prison since April over allegations of abuse of trust and fraud relating to events dating back to 2008.
Critics have cited both the social media restrictions and Bilie-By-Nze’s detention as signs of a repressive political climate, raising concerns about the prospects for democratic reforms under Nguema.
Nguema came to power following the August 2023 military coup that ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family. The takeover initially sparked celebrations among sections of the population, amid hopes of political change.
He was elected president in April 2025, but the social media shutdown and other political developments have prompted renewed debate over the country’s democratic transition.
The restoration of access to social media marks a reversal of the February restrictions, although the government’s identification requirements and planned content moderation measures could continue to shape how Gabonese citizens use online platforms.
