Gabon Lifts Social Media Suspension After Eight Months as Researchers Question Blackouts Quell Unrest

Gabon restored access to Facebook, TikTok and YouTube on 24 October 2026, more than eight months after the Haute autorité de la communication suspended them on national security grounds. An analysis published by The Conversation examines similar restrictions in Senegal, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Sudan and France, and argues that cutting platforms changes how visible a crisis is rather than addressing its causes.