Facebook responding to situation in Sri Lanka

Facebook says they are responding to the situation in Sri Lanka and are in contact with the government and non-governmental organizations to support efforts to identify and remove hate speech. 

In an emailed statement to CNBC, the social media giant said:

"We have clear rules against hate speech and incitement to violence and work hard to keep it off our platform. We are responding to the situation in Sri Lanka and are in contact with the government and non-governmental organizations to support efforts to identify and remove such content."

A person familiar with the company’s thinking regarding the Sri Lanka situation told CNBC the company believes that restricting access to the internet can deprive people of an important communication tool during a time of crisis and hopes that access will soon be restored soon in the country.

Sri Lanka, faced with online content it says has spurred deadly sectarian violence, this week banned Facebook’s social media and messaging services in that country.

By forcing internet service providers to pull the plug on Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, the government hopes to stem the spread of hate speech and fake news it blames for attacks on the country’s Muslim minority.

Meanwhile Facebook has been blamed by UN investigators for playing a leading role in possible genocide in Myanmar by spreading hate speech.

Facebook had no immediate comment on the criticism on Monday, although in the past the company has said that it was working to remove hate speech in Myanmar and ban the people spreading it.

With inputs from CNBC

-Agencies