President's Secretary Austin Fernando will be the chief negotiator on behalf of the Sri Lankan government during talks with officials from Facebook Inc., informed government sources said.

Fernando, an octogenarian, will push for stricter measures to curb defamation and hate speech when it comes to posts published by Sri Lankans on Facebook.

The government's decision to unblock access to Facebook will depend on the success of these negotiations.

Hoever, the government announced that it would unblock access to WhatsApp - a messaging platform owned by Facebook Inc - with effect from tonight.