Gabon reopens social media under tighter controls
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Infosgabon
Gabon’s High Authority for Communication has lifted the suspension of social media, imposed for eight months, after talks with TikTok, Meta and YouTube. The platforms will cooperate with the regulator, which says it has priority mechanisms for reporting and handling illegal content, according to Infosgabon.
Gabon’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) has agreed cooperation mechanisms with TikTok, Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — and YouTube to regulate content following the reopening of social media. The Gabonese authority has, among other things, priority reporting tools and protocols for handling illegal content, according to Infos Gabon.
The nationwide suspension, imposed on 17 February, was lifted with immediate effect on 24 October during an extraordinary plenary session chaired by Germain Ngoyo Moussavou, the HAC president. The regulator had cited the spread of defamatory, hateful, obscene or insulting content, as well as the risks it posed to social cohesion and the stability of institutions, Infos Gabon reports.
The decision follows the restoration of access to social media, announced on 24 October. It also extends the lifting of the social media blackout, reported the same day, replacing a blanket shutdown with targeted monitoring and intervention.
