Gabon Restores Social-Media Access After Eight-Month Ban

What changed

Gabon’s High Communication Authority says it has lifted the social-media ban imposed on 17 February. The reversal was announced on 25 October, ending eight months without Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram access through ordinary connections.

The platforms had remained important to younger Gabonese for business and personal use. Many people used VPNs to get around the restriction.

Why it matters

The decision reopens a basic piece of daily infrastructure in a country of about 2.5 million people. It also reverses a policy introduced during unrest, when teachers and civil servants were striking over pay and working conditions and the authority said online content was fuelling conflict and deepening divisions.

That makes the reversal more than a technical switch. President Brice Oligui Nguema’s government is now loosening a restriction that opposition groups called an abuse of power, after promising reform following his election with more than 90% of the vote.

The practical test is whether access is fully restored nationwide and whether the reversal lasts. Gabon’s regulator may still introduce new content controls, and its response to the announcement was not yet available.