GabonTravel Travellers in Gabon can use Facebook, TikTok, YouTube again after 8-month block
Gabon's High Communication Authority has lifted the social media ban introduced on 17 February, restoring access to platforms including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram after eight months.
Gabon has lifted a nationwide ban on social media that had been in place for eight months, its media regulator announced. The High Communication Authority (HAC) confirmed the change in a televised statement on Saturday, restoring access to platforms that had been blocked since 17 February.
Key facts
- Ban introduced: 17 February
- Ban lifted: announced on Saturday, after eight months
- Platforms affected: Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram
- Announced by: the High Communication Authority (HAC), Gabon's media regulator
- Population affected: Gabon, a central African nation of about 2.5 million people
What was blocked and why?
The HAC said when it imposed the restrictions that online content was fuelling conflict and deepening divisions in the country. The suspension covered social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, which are particularly popular with younger people in Gabon, who use them for business as well as pleasure.
Many people turned to virtual private networks (VPNs) to keep reaching the platforms while the ban was in force. The HAC has now announced that access is restored; it has not detailed any continuing restrictions.
Why was the ban imposed?
The restrictions were introduced at a time when President Brice Oligui Nguema was facing a wave of social unrest less than a year after his election. Teachers and civil servants had staged strikes over what they described as low pay and poor working conditions.
The opposition described the suspension as an abuse of power. Nguema won last year's elections with more than 90% of the vote, two years after his coup ended more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family. He pledged to reform Gabon, a small, oil- and timber-rich country where digital blackouts were used by previous governments to control information.
What this means for travellers
Anyone in Gabon can again use Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram directly, without the workarounds such as VPNs that many relied on after 17 February. Travellers planning to stay in touch, work or share updates from the country should find those platforms reachable as normal.
No further announcements on internet or social media restrictions in Gabon have been made.