Gabon Holds Talks With Meta and TikTok After Social Media Suspension

LIBREVILLE, GABON — 2026-02-27
Updated: 13:40 GMT

Gabon’s authorities have opened discussions with Meta and TikTok following the country’s suspension of access to major social media platforms, according to Gabon’s state-linked press and independent network monitoring updates.

Gabon’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) ordered the immediate suspension of social media “until further notice,” citing risks to social cohesion, institutional stability, and national security, Reuters reported, attributing the decision to the regulator’s statement.

Connectivity monitor NetBlocks said services including Meta platforms and TikTok were among those restricted, as access disruptions continued across providers.

Gabon’s newspaper L’Union reported that the presidency described the suspension as a temporary measure intended to force structured engagement with platforms, and said a deputy presidential spokesperson indicated the move was designed to obtain responses after repeated alerts to some companies.

L’Union also reported that access conditions varied by provider and time of day, with users reporting intermittent service restoration and renewed disruptions while talks continued.

In the same period, Reuters reported civil society actor Nicaise Moulombi criticized the shutdown’s effects on daily economic and civic activity, while the regulator maintained it was acting against online content it described as harmful under Gabonese law.

Gabon’s deputy presidential spokesperson, Jennyfer Mélodie Sambat, said the situation was “ponctuelle” and meant to enable a “recadrage,” according to L’Union’s account of her televised remarks, adding that the suspension helped secure responses after previous government and regulator alerts.

Civil society representative Nicaise Moulombi said the restrictions were disrupting economic and social activity and argued that social platforms had become tools for work, commerce, and citizen expression, Reuters reported.

Gabon’s suspension and subsequent talks with platforms sit within a wider African debate over platform governance, content moderation, and the balance between public order claims and access to digital services used for commerce and communication.

For Africa’s digital economy, platform disruptions can affect small businesses, creators, and cross-border services that depend on social media for customer reach and payments coordination, according to user impacts described in L’Union’s reporting from Libreville.

The HAC order remains in effect “until further notice,” Reuters reported, and authorities have indicated continued engagement with platforms as enforcement and access conditions fluctuate by provider.