Papua New Guinea could potentially ban Facebook for a month, a period of time that local officials say would provide the opportunity to study its effects on the population.
“The time will allow information to be collected to identify users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information on Facebook to be filtered and removed,” says Communications Minister Sam Basil to Papua New Guinean newspaper Post Courier. “This will allow genuine people with real identities to use the social network responsibly.” In addition, the Minister told the newspaper that the island nation’s government was also considering “a new social network site” built specifically for Papua New Guinea citizens.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most rural countries in the world, as only 18% of its citizens live in urban centers. Most Papua New Guineans live in traditional villages and communities.
