After months of regulatory pressure, Gabon and TikTok have opted for a constructive approach to resolve ongoing concerns about social media governance. During the AI for Good / WSIS Global Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, the Gabonese Minister of Digital Economy, Mark-Alexandre Doumba, engaged in high-level discussions with TikTok’s regional leadership to assess the platform’s adherence to Gabon’s updated digital regulations.
The talks come as Gabon strengthens its oversight of digital platforms, with a sharp focus on user safety—especially for minors—and strict compliance with national laws. TikTok’s regional delegation, led by Emir Gelen (Director of Government Relations for Middle East, Eurasia, and Africa) and Maria Cohn (Deputy Director of Government Relations), presented a quarterly moderation report covering the first quarter of 2026.
The platform disclosed that it had removed 23,504 sensitive posts during this period, including:
- 13,930 harmful contents targeting minors’ safety and well-being
- 10,784 posts promoting unregulated goods, services, or activities
- A substantial portion involved sexualized content or abuse material targeting minors
TikTok highlighted significant improvements in its moderation systems, boasting that 99.8% of violating content was proactively removed before user reports, with 92.9% blocked prior to viewing. The platform also claims 97.2% of flagged content was taken down within 48 hours, and 4,352 accounts were permanently suspended in the same period.
Following the meeting, Gabonese authorities and TikTok agreed to extend their collaboration for another year—matching the compliance phase outlined in the national ordinance regulating social media in Gabon. Minister Doumba emphasized the need to balance digital innovation with robust citizen protection, stressing the government’s commitment to combating misinformation, cyberbullying, hate speech, and other threats to youth mental health online.
This dialogue underscores Gabon’s firm stance on holding major tech platforms accountable while fostering a safer, more responsible digital ecosystem for its citizens.
