Libreville – The government in Gabon, where social media platforms have been suspended for more than a week, is in talks with Meta and TikTok, the communication ministry said on Thursday.
Facebook and TikTok, the most-used platforms in Gabon, as well as YouTube and Instagram were still shut down on Thursday, while WhatsApp was on and off, depending on providers.
“Discussions are ongoing” with Meta and TikTok, aides to the communication minister told AFP.
TikTok contacted the regulator the day after the announcement, indicating that it shared a commitment to maintaining “a safe digital environment that respects the rights and dignity of Gabonese citizens”, local media said.
Deputy presidency spokeswoman Jennyfer Melodie Sambat said on Monday that the shutdown was targeting Meta platforms.
“We’ve been issuing warnings for more than a year and a half, including reports about these different publications,” she said.
It was “inconceivable that, after numerous alerts from the government, the group should do nothing”, she added.
As well as posts deemed to be “defamatory”, Sambat said there was “content of a violent, even pornographic, nature”.
Gabon’s former prime minister Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, now an opposition figure, condemned the ban, calling it “disproportionate” and unconstitutional.
Some people are still managing to access social networks via a VPN. Provider Proton reported a 60,000-percent increase in downloads of its VPN tool on February 18.
Presidency spokesman Theophane Zame-Nze Biyoghe on Wednesday told the Brut outlet, which publishes mainly on social networks, that the ban “was not definitive”.
“It’s a suspension while we give precedence to this overriding interest we have in better regulation, for the benefit of everyone,” he said.
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Source: AFP
