Sri Lanka crisis: Social media blackout amid curfew, protests, says watchdog

Sri Lanka has imposed a social media blackout amid curfew and protests, NetBlocks, an internet watchdog has said. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Viber and YouTube are among the social media sites that have been reportedly hit with the fresh restrictions.

The South Asian nation has been battling a shortage of essentials as it grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades.

“Confirmed: Real-time network data show Sri Lanka has imposed a nationwide social media blackout, restricting access to platforms including Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram as emergency is declared amid widespread protests. (sic),” the tweet by the watchdog read.

In its report, NetBlocks further said: “Real-time network data collected from over 100 vantage points across Sri Lanka show the restrictions coming into effect across multiple providers from midnight. Metrics corroborate user reports of service unavailability across the country, showing that all of Sri Lanka’s major network operators including Dialog, Sri Lanka Telecom, Mobitel, Hutch are covered by the measure.”