Sri Lanka is finally lifting their ban social media nine days after the terrorist attacks, without it being clear whether this ban helped prevent the spread of misinformation.
The president of Sri Lanka has ordered the termination of the temporary ban on social media. OR ban was set implemented after devastating suicide bombings on Sunday of Catholic Easter, which left more than 250 dead.
According to the New York Times, the government today issued a statement calling on the public "to use social media responsibly, even though the ban has been lifted due to the prevailing situation in the country."
Among the platforms that were blocked during the nine days was Facebook, Instagram, the Whatsapp and Viber. And after the ban has passed, it's unclear whether the restrictions helped contain violence or limit the spread of misinformation.
Sri Lanka is not the only country blocking social media in an effort to stop the unrest. This "logic" has already been tested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Iran and in Turkey. But prohibitions of this kind raise the question of whether it is ethical to limit all speech to direct speech connection, in an effort to stop extremists and disinformation.
