ANALYSIS: Internet shutdowns won’t solve Central Africa’s political crises

In Gabon, social media access has been blocked since February amid social unrest and strikes in the education and health sectors. At least 800,000 users (about 32 per cent of the population) have been cut off from Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. A three-day internet blackout marked Gabon’s 2024 presidential polls.

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This year, an ad hoc shutdown occurred during Congo-Brazzaville’s March polls, and digital isolation was the unspoken norm in both the 2021 and March 2026 presidential elections.

NetBlocks estimates average daily losses from social media restrictions in Gabon at around CFA1 billion, nearly CFA30 billion a month. On 1 April, the government announced a gradual lifting of restrictions, but social media access remains hindered.

Digital blackouts, including total internet shutdown, throttling, and targeted platform blocking during crises, are becoming an entrenched governance tool across Africa. At least 15 internet shutdowns were recorded on the continent in 2025, six in Central Africa alone: Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

Governments typically cite stability and social cohesion. But while shutdowns allow states to control the narrative in the short term, they exacerbate rifts and tensions in the medium term and carry lasting socioeconomic costs.

The internet and social media have created a new category of political actors – whistleblowers, influencers, online journalists and political commentators. In contexts where ruling regimes dominate the public sphere and traditional media are under pressure, the digital space amplifies alternative voices, particularly among youth and diaspora communities.

Unable to control or censor these actors, many governments, particularly in Central Africa, resort to digital isolation.

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But internet and social media use extend far beyond leisure and activism. They encompass online business, employment, healthcare, education and more. Central Africa’s economies are characterised by high youth unemployment. Small-scale businesses and the informal economy, including the gig economy, made up of e-commerce sellers, delivery drivers and content creators who rely heavily on social media, could see their businesses and living standards decline.

Chad holds the regional record for a 472-day social media shutdown between 2018 and 2019, followed by a targeted shutdown in February 2024. Since November 2024, mobile internet has also been cut in the Lake Province after a Boko Haram attack and the subsequent counter-offensive.

Equatorial Guinea experienced a 14-month targeted shutdown on Annobón Island from August 2024. Several shorter or more localised internet cuts have occurred across the region in the past five years.

Beyond Central Africa, Tanzania cut internet access during the 2025 election and post-election unrest, amid documented abuses against those contesting the polls. Uganda did the same during its 2026 general elections.

In each case, governments invoked national stability, social cohesion and the need to counter hate speech, a framing that masks political crises far deeper than digital blackouts can resolve. Shutdowns enable governments to silence dissenting voices and crush protests, while controlling the narrative and accounts of events.

In Tanzania, blackouts were used to conceal widespread abuses. This, however, has not prevented civil society from documenting the mass abuses. Several United Nations (UN) reports and resolutions say internet shutdowns violate fundamental rights. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation condemns such blackouts, saying connectivity is a prerequisite for education and cultural participation.

The UN requires internet shutdowns to comply with the criteria of legality, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality. Neither in Gabon nor Congo-Brazzaville do the governments’ reasons appear to meet these criteria.

Because of their seemingly illegal and illegitimate character, digital isolations erode trust in institutions, widening the divide between governments and citizens.

In Gabon, the new regime is straining its relationship with the very citizens – particularly the youth – who backed the 2023 coup and voted for the president in the 2025 election. In Congo-Brazzaville, the blackout lends credibility to suspicions that the election outcome was a foregone conclusion, favouring the outgoing president, with the potential for the results to be contested or delegitimised.

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In response to civil society and opposition criticism of the internet shutdown’s abusive character, Gabon’s government intends to regulate the use of digital platforms better. This is notably achieved by establishing general regulations for social media use and protecting minors.

This framework defines the status of influencers, sets the digital legal age at 16, and introduces the concept of joint and several liability for posts in online groups and communities, as well as the enforcement of sanctions.

For government, this allows for the regulation of the digital space and enables action against disinformation and other digital abuses. Political opposition, however, considers it an infringement on civil liberties.

The spread of the internet and social media in Central Africa poses a real challenge for democratic governance and stability. Regulating this digital space, while safeguarding the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and access to information, is not a secondary concern; it sits at the heart of the region’s political future.

States can turn these tensions into opportunities, ensuring a digital space that serves the common good. To achieve this, a balanced and proactive approach that combines strengthening regulatory frameworks, promoting digital literacy, and supporting civil society is essential to stable, inclusive democratic governance.