Sri Lanka is currently under the situation of communal violence. The murder of a Sinhalese Buddhist in the city of Kandy by a group of Muslim men has led to communal violence there. Buddhist mobs attacked various Muslim owned businesses and mosques. The Government declared a State of Emergency (SoE) in order to control the situation there. Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) blocked social media networks and messaging services such as Viber, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp across the country for 72 hours in order to stop communal violence and bring the situation under control. Since its civil war, nearly a decade ago, Sri Lanka has never faced any SoE. This one is first time after its civil war that Sri Lanka faced SoE.
Reason for Internet Blackout
Generally, rumors on social media spread rapidly which can lead to violence in the country. In the state of communal violence, frequency of such rumors increase a lot. So, to prevent such rumors, Government decided to block social media networks to prevent further violence in the country. According to some reports, internet has been cut off entirely in Kandy. Citizens found themselves away from each other as every messaging service and social networks have been blocked nationwide for 72 hours. People found it difficult to stay in touch with their friends, family and relatives.
Impact of Internet Blackout
There is no evidence that can prove that internet blackouts help to prevent or reduce the acts of communal violence before they occur. Instead, they disconnect the citizens from one another and from Journalists who try to provide some information. Also, citizens get disconnected from important information as well as from each other which is very important for public safety in the times of emergency. In India, such situations and state has become very common. Since 2012, there have been more than 72 internet blackouts. Number of times, various states of India have gone under the situation of SoE and made internet services or social networks unavailable to the citizens. Last April, Jammu and Kashmir faced blockage of several social networks and other online services for a month.
Such internet blackouts can prove to be useful or problematic depending on the situation. Internet has now become major part of human life. It is really important from day-to-day life. Each and every person finds internet to be essential from different point of view. So, a day without internet could make a severe impact in human life. Number of processes and work remains incomplete with the blockage of internet or social networks. The situation in Kandy is improving now. Let’s see whether the decision of blackout proves to be beneficial or problematic for maintaining peace in the country.
