Sri Lanka restores #facebook and #youtube access after nine-day blackout

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The Sri Lankan government has ended a blackout of social media sites that was imposed after the bombings in the country earlier this month, The New York Times reports.

The shutdown, which started soon after the April 21st Easter attacks, affected major services, including Facebook and YouTube. The government said the ban was necessary to prevent the spread of misinformation following the bombings on churches and hotels. More than 250 people were killed in the attacks, which ISIS has claimed responsibility for.

The decision generated debate about the politics of social media access in an emergency, but the effectiveness of the ban has not been obvious. While not unheard of, a nine-day…

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