“A few years ago we’d view the blocking of social media sites after an attack as outrageous censorship; now we think of it as essential duty of care, to protect ourselves from threat,” Ivan Sigal, the executive director of Global Voices, an international journalism and digital advocacy group, tweeted after the block was announced. “Facebook your house is not in order,” he said on Twitter.
Sri Lanka temporarily blocked Facebook and other platforms last year after the government said they were being used to incite violence.
Google, YouTube’s parent company, and Snap, owner of Snapchat, did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Sunday.