Colombo: The Sri Lankan government, battling nationwide protests over the economic crisis, has blocked access to all social media sites in its latest bid to quell protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Access to all social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, following a governemt order late on Saturday. The Sri Lankan government said the decision was taken to stem misinformation.
The social media block is temporary and imposed due to special instructions given by the Defence Ministry. It was imposed in the interests of the country and people to maintain calm,” Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Chairman Jayantha de Silva told Reuters.
A 36-hour curfew is already in place in the island nation of 22 million. The curfew, which began on Saturday 6pm, has been imposed till Monday 6 am – a period that covers planned mass anti-government protests against worsening shortages of fuel, food and medicines.
The curfew and state of emergency in the near-bankrupt country came as social media posts called for protests on Sunday. “Do not be deterred by tear gas, very soon they will run out of dollars to re-stock,” said one post encouraging people to demonstrate even if police attempt to break up gatherings.
