Papua New Guinea shuts down Facebook, but that won’t stop users

Papua New Guinea has restricted Facebook in the country in an effort to stop the spread of pornography, hate speech, and other harmful content.

Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms in Papua New Guinea, with roughly 1.3 million users reported in 2025, as per DataReportal, an online data library based in Singapore.

Despite its widespread use, the government in Papua New Guinea is conducting a “test” to see whether shutting down Facebook in the country could stop the proliferation of pornography, hate speech, misinformation, and other harmful materials.

The test, which began on Monday, has been conducted under the country’s anti-terrorism laws, RNZ reports.

According to RNZ, the government has been using technology to block social media platforms. Yet, Police Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr. didn’t explicitly state what technology was being used.

However, Tsiamalili Jr. did say that the government is “not attempting to suppress free speech or restrict (its) citizens from expressing their viewpoints.”

The police minister calls the “unchecked proliferation” of harmful content such as child abuse material, fake news, and hate speech on platforms like Facebook “unacceptable.”

Netizens have taken to social media to protest the ban, stating that “this is the stuff that dictators do.”

PNG government “testing” controls over facebook @Meta in PNG. Blackout, blanket suppression. This is stuff dictators do. pic.twitter.com/p1vd9NJZ3S

undefined MICHAEL KABUNI (@miqurlkabuni) March 24, 2025

Another X user said that the shutdown of Facebook “is a big deal” as “Facebook is like the internet in Papua New Guinea.”

Facebook is like the internet in PNG… many people don’t use web services beyond FB, so shutting it down is a big deal. Lots of discussions around freedom of speech etc. On the other hand FB has been used to perpetuate violence and unrest in PNG.

undefined Marian Faa (@marianfaa) March 24, 2025

The banning of social media apps for entire countries is generally commonplace nowadays.

Instagram was blocked in Turkey without warning back in 2024. So, too, was X after the Brazilian government banned the platform after a long battle with its CEO, Elon Musk.

When Brazil banned X, many users used VPNs despite warnings from the government that anyone found using the social media platform would have to pay a hefty fine.

Similarly, users in Papua New Guinea use VPNs (virtual private networks) to access Facebook, RNZ reports, as one user said, “Hello from Poland.”