Nauru's president Baron Waqa has launched a fiery defence of his government's decision to ban Facebook, saying social media has the power to stoke instability in the small Pacific nation.

The ban has been widely condemned by opposition MPs and refugee advocates who said it was designed to restrict asylum seekers in detention from communicating with the outside world.

Mr Waqa was among the heads of government and other leaders attending the 71st Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the regional development arm of the United Nations.

In a keynote speech to the commission meeting in Bangkok, Mr Waqa said the effects of social media were "very powerful".

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"Nauru has been on the receiving end recently of biased and unsubstantiated reporting by foreign media and left-wing groups regarding the government's decision to ban Facebook," he said.

"In a tiny community with only 10,000 people and where nearly everyone knows one another the effects of social media to inform and to advertise is very powerful indeed.

"The power is to disrupt, embarrass, destroy one's reputation and to create instability."

Mr Waqa said the Facebook ban was in the interests of protecting the country, particularly the younger generation.

"The use of Facebook on Nauru to circulate nude pictures of girls and the unregulated use of language to intimidate and to create tensions among friends and families is something that our society cannot and will not accept," he said.

Facebook confirmed it had recently met with Nauru's government to discuss its concerns around the alleged misuse of the social networking site.

"We confirmed that our community standards prohibit pornography, bullying and harassment and content that promotes sexual violence or exploitation," Facebook said in a statement to the ABC.

"We remove content of this nature when it is reported to us.

"Despite this, the government has advised us that the ban on Facebook will continue for months."

'We have not blocked the internet'

In a statement, Nauru's justice minister David Adeang said the "overwhelming majority of Nauruans" supported the government's actions, with many mothers expressing their gratitude.

"We have blocked sites that promote child pornography and exploit women and children, and we do not apologise for this," he said.

"Surely no one want to see children exploited on the internet."

Nauru has tightened its criminal code prohibiting public statements that intimidate, harass or cause emotional stress to a person. ( www.naurugov.nr )

Mr Adeang said claims made by non-governmental organisations and sections of the media that Nauru was blocking internet access were "completely false".

"Those who are living as refugees in Nauru have complete access to all communications including phone, internet, email and a myriad of social media platforms," he said.

"They are free to live as any other citizen of Nauru and their communication has not been restricted at all."

Shortly after the government enacted the Facebook ban in late April, it amended the criminal code to make comments deemed "threatening, abusive or insulting in nature" an offence punishable by up to seven years in jail.

Under the changes, public statements that are likely to threaten national defence and public order would also be an offence.

The deputy executive secretary of ESCAP, Shun-ichi Murata, said Nauru's crackdown on free speech was inconsistent with the region's sustainable development goals.

"An inclusiveness of the communication and participation of the people, that part is an important element from the development perspective," he said.

"All leaders agreed to that and I hope the correction will be made in the future."