Sri Lanka lifts social media ban as VPNs make it ‘completely useless’
Demand for VPNs skyrocketed on Sunday after the block took effect
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Sri Lanka has reversed a social media ban after only 16 hours after the use ofVPNservices in the country was deemed to make it ‘completely useless’.
According to data from Top10VPN, the demand for virtual private networks in the countryskyrocketed by 17,000% on Sunday, April 3after major platforms like Facebook,WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram were blocked.
After establishing a curfew and declaring a state of emergency, the ban came into force as the last attempt to stop the wave of protests fueling across the country amid a major economic crisis.
The blackout prompted a wave of criticism, with the President’s nephew Namal Rajapaksa condemning the move on Twitter after connecting by using a VPN.
By masking users' realIP addressand location, these security tools allow citizens to access censored platforms and circumvent online censorship. While authoritarian regimes are able to block VPNs in some cases - asRussiais doing right now - Sri Lankan authorities don’t seem willing to go that far.
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Short-lived social media ban provoked a backlash
Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa enforced thesocial media banin an attempt to disrupt anti-government demonstrations. The move came after imposing a nationwide curfew as well as a state of emergency following a crowd holding a rally out of his home in Colombo, the capital.
Internet service providers were forced to prevent access to all major social networks - these include Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp,YouTube, TikTok, Telegram and Facebook - ‘in the interests of the country’, as UK newspaperthe Independent reported.
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Cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks was the first to confirm the action in atweet. The organization has also been tracking adecline in connectivity levels on internet provider Dialogsince the end of March when the wave of protests took off.
The move provoked a strong backlash. AsThe Guardian reported, the Chief of Sri Lanka’s internet regulator gave his resignation right after the ban order came into force. While Namal Rajapaksa, the President’s nephew and Minister of Youth and Sports, cricticised the decision on Twitter after accessing the platform using a VPN service.
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 #lkaApril 3, 2022
Inanother tweet, Rajapaksa then informed the public of his decision to resign from his Parliamentary role.
From there, the blackout did not last long. It was lifted just 16 hours following The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka’s decision that the Ministry of Defense had no authority to force ISPs to comply with the censorship order.
However, the move appeared to have been pointless anyway, as protesters managed to circumvent the block through the use of VPN services and defy the curfew marching throughout the capital’s main square.
Discontent across Sri Lanka
A wave of protests is spreading across the country as Sri Lankans are facing a severe shortage of essentials - like fuel and food - record inflation levels, and crippling power cuts. The current situation is considered as the hardest economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
Even though the pandemic exacerbates the country foreign debt, several economists point to the many years of government mismanagement as the main crisis' responsible.
Under the chants of “Gota go home” and “Stop suppression,” opposition leaders and angry citizens are taking into the streets of the capital and other major cities to express their discontent.
Authorities fired tear gas and issued many arrests in an attempt to crack down on the thousands who broke the curfew to protest over the economic crisis.
On Tuesday April 5, the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revoked the state of emergency following dozens of MPs resigning from the ruling coalition.
Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life—wherever cybersecurity, markets and politics tangle up.She mainly writes news, interviews and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, cybercrime, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar Pro, TechRadar and Tom’s Guide. Got a story, tip-off or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to chiara.castro@futurenet.com
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