Editing Telecommunications in Gabon (section)

===Internet censorship and surveillance===

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports the government monitors [[e-mail]] or Internet [[chat rooms]] without appropriate legal authority.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Gabon-2012>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204121 "Gabon"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 25 March 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2014.</ref>

The constitution and law provide for [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press|press]], and the government generally respects these rights. [[Libel]] can be either a criminal offense or a civil matter. Editors and authors of libelous material may be jailed for two to six months and fined 500,000 to five million CFA francs ($1,008 to $10,080). Penalties for libel, disrupting public order, and other offenses also include a one- to three-month publishing suspension for a first offense and a three- to six-month suspension for repeat offenses.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Gabon-2012/>

Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, the government does not always respect these prohibitions in practice. As part of criminal investigations, police request and easily obtain search warrants from judges, sometimes after the fact. Authorities reportedly monitor private telephone conversations, personal mail, and the movement of citizens.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Gabon-2012/>