Namal says blocking social media is ‘completely useless’

Minister Namal Rajapaksa has urged the government to reconsider the curbs on social media, pointing out that such bans are “completely useless”.

The Sri Lankan government blocked access to all social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, through an order late on Saturday. It said the decision was taken to stem “misinformation”. 

Namal Rajapaksa, who is the Cabinet Minister of Youth and Sports as well as the State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development, tweeted, “I will never condone the blocking of social media. The availability of VPN, just like I’m using now, makes such bans completely useless.”

“I urge the authorities to think more progressively and reconsider this decision.”

VPN stands for virtual private network and can be used to protect yourself from snooping, access content restricted to some locations and to bypass censorship.

The Sri Lankan government on Saturday blocked access to all social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube.

“The social media block is temporary and imposed due to special instructions given by the Defence Ministry, the country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission said. 

“It was imposed in the interests of the country and people to maintain calm,” the commission’s Chairman, Jayantha de Silva had told Reuters.

I will never condone the blocking of social media. The availability of VPN, just like I’m using now, makes such bans completely useless. I urge the authorities to think more progressively and reconsider this decision. #SocialMediaBanLK #SriLanka #lka

— Namal Rajapaksa (@RajapaksaNamal) April 3, 2022