Lomé: In Togo, the authorities have restated their intentions to regulate online speech, restricting the use of social media amid heightened political tensions in this country of over 9.5 million citizens. Early in June 2025, protests broke out across the country over the Gnassingbé regime, which has been in power for over half a century. The internet and messaging platforms were instrumental in the rallies that the Togolese diaspora initiated. Togolese citizens living abroad and in Togo turned to Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X to express their frustration over the regime of President Faure Gnassingbé, who has been in office since succeeding his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, in 2005.
According to Global Voices, since June, the government has launched frequent internet disruptions. Many online media outlets have stopped working or are only accessible to citizens using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The prosecutor went one step further, including internet users who like or leave comments approving or validating this content. Talaka Mawana also mentioned the existing legal framework and the texts and laws applicable in the event of non-compliance with the new principles that the authorities have established.
Following the judicial authority's stern warning, the media regulatory body, the High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC), highlighted that the public prosecutor's warning also applies to media professionals. According to the statement released on October 7, the 2024 and 2025 Freedom House reports confirm that freedom of expression is extremely limited in Togo, with the recent protests and repression further threatening this right. The country's current state of affairs puts freedom of expression at risk of disappearing, as highlighted in this article by local media outlet IciLomé, "In Togo, freedom of expression no longer exists."
Togo isn't the only country in this situation. In Côte d'Ivoire, in July 2025, the justice system toughened its stance on internet users using social media to discredit, defame, and insult both their fellow citizens and the country's authorities. The first person subjected to this law was 43-year-old state-registered nurse Topkah Jean Japhet. On July 18, 2025, Topkah Jean Japhet was imprisoned for three years and fined FCFA 5 million (USD 8,887), despite issuing a public apology. Koné Braman, the public prosecutor of Côte d'Ivoire, maintains that the tolerance of online abuse is officially over. He announced that deep concerns among internet users persist.
Togolese civil society actors consider the Togolese authorities' tougher stance a new form of censorship. In an interview with television news network Africa24, Emmanuel Elolo Agbenonwossi, President of the Internet Society Togo Chapter (the Togolese branch of a global organization advocating for unrestricted internet access worldwide), fears these statements will lead to a rise in fake accounts. In Togo, with an internet penetration rate of over 66.56 percent, a significant number of cell phone users, and the essential need to communicate on digital platforms, it is highly unlikely that Togolese internet users will reduce their online activity.