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

Gabon notes it has lifted a ban on social media imposed eight months ago – a move that triggered widespread criticism at the time.

Key points

• The High Communication Authority (HAC) confirmed the U-turn on Saturday in a televised statement.
• The ban had been introduced on 17 February, with the HAC saying that online content was fuelling conflict and deepening divisions in the country.
• Plenty of turned to VPNs so as to continue accessing social media sites after the ban.
• Teachers and civil servants had staged strikes over what they remarked were low pay and poor working conditions.
• At the time he pledged to reform Gabon, a small, oil- and timber-rich country, where digital blackouts were applied by the previous governments to control information.

In practice, the High Communication Authority (HAC) confirmed the U-turn on Saturday in a televised statement. The BBC has approached the country's media regulator for comment.

In practice, the ban had been introduced on 17 February, with the HAC saying that online content was fuelling conflict and deepening divisions in the country.

For context, the move came as a shock to the central African nation of regarding 2.5 million residents, where social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram have been particularly popular with younger individuals who apply it for business as well as pleasure.

For context, the ban had been imposed at a time when the Gabonese 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 remarked were low pay and poor working conditions. The opposition remarked the suspension was an abuse of power.

Nguema won last year's elections with more than 90% of the vote, two years after his coup had concluded more than five decades of rule by the Bongo family.

For now, gabon says access to social media restored after eight remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.