It seems that some countries are still not willing to accept the public apology and forgive Facebook so easily, after the Cambridge Analytica.
Papua New Guinea's Communications Minister Sam Basil told the Post Courier that citizens should expect a month-long ban on Facebook. The government will block access to the site for a month to assess the benefits versus the risks the social network poses to citizens, particularly in terms of pornography and fake accounts.
“This time will allow us to gather information to identify users hiding behind fake accounts, users uploading pornographic images, users posting false and misleading information on Facebook, so that they can be removed,” Basil said. “This will allow users with real identities to use the social network responsibly.”.
The shutdown is an enforcement of Papua New Guinea's Cybercrime Act of 2016. The month without Facebook will allow police to track down criminals using the social media platform, while the government will investigate the role it plays in society.
Basil said the government will also consider creating its own state-owned social network.
With a population of about 8.4 million people, Papua New Guinea has about the same number of citizens as New York City. However, according to The Guardian, only 12 percent of residents use the Internet and Facebook. That translates to about 1 million people, which is a drop in the ocean of Facebook's 2.19 billion monthly active users.
But if this restriction starts spreading to other smaller countries, it could damage Facebook's global image, especially at a time when its CEO is stating how important it is for him to turn his social network into an everyday necessity.
