Gabon's media regulator indefinitely suspended major social media platforms in February, citing security concerns during anti-government protests, with authorities also stopping young people at checkpoints to confiscate phones running VPNs. A new regulation now requires social media users to register with verified personal details, and platforms face heavy fines and prison terms for non-compliance — measures that rights groups, including the #KeepItOn coalition, have condemned as a "blatant disregard" for freedom of expression and the right to access information. The crackdown marks a troubling shift for Gabon (a central African oil-producing nation), where General Brice Oligui Nguema, who seized power in 2023 promising a new style of governance, appears to critics to be replicating the authoritarian tactics of the Bongo family dynasty he ousted.