Eight months of digital silence, and a return with strings attached. Gabon’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) announced on Saturday 24 October the lifting of the suspension of social media, which had been in force since 17 February. Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram are accessible again, while WhatsApp, which had been working intermittently, is back to normal service.
Why the block?
In February, the regulator justified the measure by citing the spread of content likely to stoke tensions and divisions in society. The authorities also invoked the need to adapt the legal framework to better regulate online activity.
During those eight months, many Gabonese got around the ban using virtual private networks (VPNs). Provider Proton even reported a 60,000% surge in downloads of its app the day after the block came into force.
The end of online anonymity
The return to normal is not quite that. The government now requires users to provide proof of identity, a provision that effectively ends anonymity on social networks. The HAC also says it is working with Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok and YouTube, to strengthen content moderation.
Freedoms under watch
The suspension drew sharp criticism from the opposition and several legal challenges, all of which were rejected. It comes amid a tense political climate. The August 2023 coup, which ended 55 years of domination by the Bongo family, had raised hopes of democratic opening. Brice Oligui Nguema, elected president in April 2025, faces criticism for maintaining practices seen as repressive. Among the opponents of the suspension was former prime minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, jailed since April in a breach-of-trust and fraud case concerning events dating back to 2008.
The issue goes beyond Gabon: more and more governments, in Africa and elsewhere, are seeking to require internet users to identify themselves. A delicate balance between fighting online hate and protecting freedom of expression.
Sources : Africanews / AFP
Photo: VIGNA christian / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
