Papua New Guinea has launched an investigation after experiencing a loss of access to Facebook during a police test of “innovative technology” aimed at regulating online content. Meta’s Facebook and Messenger platforms remained inaccessible to users for more than 24 hours after mysteriously going offline on Monday.
The government has instructed the country’s technology regulator to investigate the “root cause of unsatisfactory access to Facebook during this period.” Communications Minister Timothy Masiu stated that Meta had confirmed there was no outage on its end in the past 48 hours.
Earlier, the information and technology regulator stated that the cause of the outage was “unclear.” However, Kila Gulo-Vui, the regulator’s chief executive, revealed that the regulator had become aware of a police media release on Monday, which praised a “successful” test to regulate content on Facebook and other online platforms. Gulo-Vui noted that the regulator had not been consulted or involved in the testing, despite the police claiming they had acted in partnership.
“While maintaining national security is a priority, the balance between safety and digital freedom must be carefully managed,” the authority stated.
Police Minister Peter Tsiamalili issued a statement praising the “successful testing of innovative technology designed to regulate the use of Facebook,” though it did not provide specific details about how the “control systems” were tested. Tsiamalili emphasized, “We are not attempting to suppress free speech or restrict our citizens from expressing their viewpoints,” but he condemned the unchecked spread of fake news, hate speech, pornography, child exploitation, and incitement to violence on platforms like Facebook.
Meta has not yet provided a comment regarding the outage.
