Sri Lankan minister and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s eldest son, Namal Rajapaksa, has prompted the public to reconsider social media restrictions, claiming that such restrictions are “completely useless.” Through an order issued late Sunday, the Sri Lankan government blocked access to all social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. It stated that the decision was made to combat “misinformation.” The move comes amid mass demonstrations against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the midst of the island nation’s crippling economic crisis. I will never support social media blocking. The availability of VPN services, such as the one I’m using right now, renders such bans completely ineffective. I implore the authorities to think more critically and reconsider their decision. Namal Rajapaksa, President Rajapaksa’s nephew and the minister in charge of youth and sports in Sri Lanka, tweeted, “I will never support social media blocking. The availability of VPN services, such as the one I’m using right now, renders such bans completely ineffective. I implore the authorities to think more critically and reconsider their decision.”
VPN stands for proxy server and can be used to protect oneself from snooping, access content that is restricted to certain locations, and circumvent censorship.
A 36-hour curfew has been imposed in the country until Monday after people took to the streets to protest a lack of essential supplies, high inflation, and power outages. A state of emergency has been declared by the government.
Social media posts had urged people to join the protests in response to the bravery of the security forces. For days, the hashtags “#GoHomeRajapaksas” and “#GotaGoHome” have been trending on Twitter and Facebook. Hundreds of people defied the curfew and gathered in several suburban towns, according to police and residents.
Mr Rajapaksa stated that the state of emergency was required to maintain public order and essential services.
The ongoing crisis has been exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic, which has hit tourism as a result of economic mismanagement by successive governments.
