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 clamped down access in various Social Media, όπως το Facebook, το Whatsapp και το Youtube, σύμφωνα με τα τοπικά ΜΜΕ και την website Netblocks.
Confirmed: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Viber, Snapchat and Messenger are blocked #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 reports that the government blocked Facebook, the facebook messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Viber and YouTube, while the authorities have also issued a traffic ban in the country.
Presidential adviser Harindra Dassanayake told The New York Times that "it was a unilateral decision" and was made as there were concerns that the attacks would spark waves of widespread misinformation, hate speech and violence. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
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 πρότειναν νέους κανονισμούς για να αναγκάσουν τις Companies να κάνουν περισσότερα στην καταπολέμηση του προβλήματος.
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