‘Blatant disregard for rights’: concern grows over Gabon’s social media clampdown
Activists claim use of laws to curtail internet freedoms part of well-documented history of cracking down on dissent
When Gabon’s media regulator indefinitely suspended major social media platforms in February, citing security concerns during anti-government protests, it became the talk of town – literally.
Within weeks of the announcement, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the restrictions surged in the central African country. When gendarmerie began stopping young men at road checkpoints in the capital Libreville and other urban centres to confiscate mobile phones with VPNs installed or detain the owners, warnings spread by word of mouth. Activists and opposition members said their accounts were also suspended due to efforts of state officials.
So the gendarmerie is literally stopping people at checkpoints for having a VPN on their phone? That’s a blatant disregard for privacy and basic rights.
Using ‘security concerns’ to justify shutting down social media during protests is just a repeat of what they’ve done before. History doesn’t lie.
I bet the government is just scared of people organizing online. Suspending opposition accounts proves this is about silencing dissent, not security.