Gabon says access to social media restored after eight-month ban

Gabon says social media access has been restored after an eight-month ban

Gabon says it has ended a ban on social media that was imposed eight months ago, a step that drew broad criticism at the time.

The High Communication Authority (HAC) announced the reversal on Saturday in a televised statement.

The restriction was introduced on 17 February, with the HAC saying online content was stoking conflict and widening divisions in the country.

The decision came as a surprise in the central African country of about 2.5 million people, where platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram are especially popular among younger users, who rely on them for both business and leisure.

After the ban, many people used VPNs to keep accessing social media sites.

The measure had been put in place while Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema was dealing with a surge in social unrest less than a year after his election.

Teachers and civil servants had gone on strike, saying pay was too low and working conditions were poor.

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 Bongo family rule.

At the time, he promised to reform Gabon, a small country rich in oil and timber, where previous governments had used digital blackouts to control information.