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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The deposed Sri Lankan Prime Minister's party has urged Facebook to protect the identity of its supporters on social networks, fearing that sharing information with what it calls the country's illegal government will lead to a crackdown on users.
In a letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, the United National Party said such information could be used against users "in a legally prohibited way".
Party spokeswoman Piyasena Dissanayaka said on Sunday that Facebook had blocked her official page before a public rally on Thursday, but had restored it Saturday.
"It is very likely that officials of the current illegal administration (…) can ask Facebook for information about some Sri Lankan Facebook users who should legitimately be deprived," said the letter sent Thursday.
"It is essential that this information be saved, as the current illegal administration will most likely use it in a legally prohibited way," the letter says.
Dissanayaka said Facebook officials have not responded to the letter.
Facebook officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was fired last month by President Maithripala Sirisena. Sirisena replaced Wickremesinghe by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who received two no-confidence motions against him.
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