One of the world's smallest countries just banned Facebook
Facebook has officially been banned in the small island nation of Nauru, a move refugee advocates and opposition leaders have slammed as an act of "dictatorship," according to ABC Australia.
The ban is reportedly part of a larger government plan to censor "internet sites that show pornography, particularly those featuring children." But many believe the government is concerned about the number of people who had been using the social media site as a platform for political protest.
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Many of the country's 10,000 inhabitants have become frustrated with the government's lack of transparency, evidenced by its "shutting out members of the opposition, having an ineffective parliament where basically there's no scrutiny or debate on policies and activities," and now curbing social media, Batsiua said.
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The government has reportedly also put restrictions on where and when people can protest.
"The ability to arrest ... assemblies three or greater now extends to public areas and that effectively means inside the refugee compounds itself," Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition told ABC. "It's not far short of being a dictatorship."
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