The typical reaction to Facebook's Cambridge Analytica debacle is one of outrage and governments demanding to question Mark Zuckerberg over the matter. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is taking a different approach, though, and has opted to shut down access to Facebook for an entire month.

As Papua New Guinea Today reports via The Guardian, the shut down was announced by the country's Communications and Information Technology Department. The reason for Facebook being taken offline is one of research and analysis. The government will work with the PNG National Research Institute to figure out who is using Facebook and how many fake accounts there are functioning within the country.

According to PNG minister Sam Basil, by identifying all the fake account it will, "allow genuine people with real identities to use the social network responsibly." It may even lead to the PNG government deciding to create its own social network for citizens.

What's unclear is how exactly Facebook's data will be accessed by the government. Basil says the aim is to "fully enforce the Cyber Crime Act" which was passed back in 2016. It seems unlikely Facebook will be willing to share more than standard analysis already allows. PNG has a population of over eight million people, which it would be difficult to filter through and match to individual Facebook accounts in just one month.

The more interesting outcome from this month-long ban is what will happen at the end. Will the population of PNG return to the social network or not bother? Will those who can't live without it find other means to gain access, such as using a VPN? I'm sure Facebook will be monitoring what happens with great interest.

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