Protests against economic crisis in Sri Lanka: Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp block

 Sri Lanka has blocked Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp to quell protests against the country's economic crisis.

According to the French news agency AFP, the pro-government news channel Ada Derana on Sunday said that the internet service providers have blocked social media platforms on the orders of the defense authorities.

The news channel quoted the Sri Lankan media regulator as saying that "Internet service providers have been asked to temporarily restrict social media platforms at the request of the Ministry of Defense."

Due to the worst economic crisis in Sri Lanka, people protested against the government.

President Gutbaya Raja Pakse on Friday declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in the country until Monday morning to quell the protests.

Anti-government hashtags Go Home Raj Paxas and Gota Go Home have been trending on Twitter and Facebook for days. Consumers are protesting against shortage of essential commodities, increase in prices and prolonged load shedding.

Police say a social media user was arrested Friday for allegedly posting content that could pose a public order problem.

Western ambassadors to Colombo have expressed concern about the use of emergency laws to stifle democratic dissent and said they were reviewing the situation in the country.

The government has deployed troops in the country to deal with any situation.

Sri Lanka is facing a decline in its foreign exchange reserves. The Sri Lankan government is in contact with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.