Sri Lanka is finally lifting the ban on social media nine days after the terrorist attacks, without it being clear if this ban has 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 blocked during the nine days were Facebook, the Instagram, WhatsApp and Viber. Even after the ban expires, it is not clear whether the restrictions helped contain the violence or curb the spread of misinformation.
Sri Lanka is not the only country to block social media informations in an attempt 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.