“Facebook asked to block snuff film, instead decides to block entire country and continue to distribute the snuff film.”
Facebook clearly don’t want to distribute snuff films, child porn, or other objectionable material, regardless of where in the world the operate.
If they weren't in the business of policing the network this way, the deletions would only be in response to a court order - which do happen. Then they would be in the PR favor by deciding to ignore "another country's" court order, and "exiting that market" if it was a better business decision.
This is one of the grand luxuries of international business, and Facebook is paying for it - in this case - instead of enjoying the privilege.
Someone should tell them PM to change her statement to "Our censorship laws are about to change"
What world do you live in? People by and large do not actually want that level of free speech.
For Facebook why not just block New Zealand? Looking for thoughtful responses
edit: seems there are reports of New Zealand ISPs blocking very many sites and web services. So for Facebook this is also a compelling option to just block the country and continue business as usual, focusing on important things like those user metrics. Censoring videos is an antiquated law forcing silly compliance burdens.