The Solomon Islands cabinet has voted to ban the use of Facebook in the country.
The Solomon Times reports the move, supposedly a temporary one, was agreed to in cabinet because of abusive language used against members of government including the Prime Minister, character assassination and defamation.
Communications minister Peter Shanel Agovaka told the online news site that the use of internet in the country “needs to be properly regulated to safeguard our young people from harmful content”.
He claims the Facebook ban will not affect media’s freedom of press.
There are currently 120,000 Facebook users in the Solomon Islands – more than a third of them aged under 24.
Other Pacific countries have in the past considered a Facebook ban including Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.
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