Gabon has suspended access to social media and digital platforms throughout the central African nation until further notice as critics accuse the country’s leader of crackdown on dissent.

Gabon has suspended some social media platforms, citing concerns that posts could undermine social cohesion and threaten the stability of institutions and national security, the Central African country's media regulator said in a statement.

Gabon's media regulator has announced the suspension of social media platforms "until further notice", saying online content has fuelled conflict and deepened divisions in the country.

Gov. JB Pritzker is proposing a statewide fee on social media companies in an effort to raise $200 million a year for education, as the state grapples with a $2 billion budget shortfall.

The department has sent Google, Meta and other companies hundreds of subpoenas for information on accounts that track or comment on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officials and tech workers said.

More than half of college students are lonely—and those who use social media the most are particularly likely to feel isolated, a study of tens of thousands of 18 to 24-year-olds in the US shows. Just 16 hours a week—two or so hours a day—on social media was linked with higher odds of loneliness,

Charlie Meza, a 9-year-old social media star whose mother documented her life with brain cancer, died on Feb. 14. She was 9. “She is free,” her mom, Taylor, captioned a Feb. 15 Instagram post sharing the news of her death.

Vulnerability to online crime is another significant issue that can impact older social media users, since they are more exposed to scams tailored for them, including prizes, lottery and investment scams or fake emergencies involving relatives.