A coordinated series of attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka resulted in the death of more than 200 people and injuries at least to 450. 
In response to the attack, the Sri Lankan government has restricted access to various Social Media, such as Facebook, Whatsapp and Youtube, according to local media and website Netblocks.
Confirmed: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Viber, Snapchat and Messenger blocked in #SriLanka following series of deadly church and hotel attacks; incident ongoing #EasterSundayAttacksLK #KeepItOn (I.e.https://t.co/xp4hSxvFOi pic.twitter.com/dcQ6COsWKB
- NetBlocks (@netblocks) April 21, 2019
Local media reported that the government has blocked Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Viber and YouTube, while the authorities have also banned circulation in the country.
Presidential adviser Harindra Dassanayake told The New York Times ότι “ήταν μια μονομερής απόφαση” και πραγματοποιήθηκε καθώς υπήρχαν ανησυχίες ότι οι attacks they will cause waves of widespread misinformation, hate speech and violence. It is currently unknown when the ban will end.
The move is not unprecedented in the country, which last year was experiencing misinformation on Facebook, and temporarily banned the connection to Social Media.
Recall that Facebook and other social network platforms have been used in recent years to spread misinformation, something the company has admitted and is trying to curb. Countries like India proposed new regulations to force the Companies to do more to combat the problem.
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