Sri Lanka’s lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill to regulate online content, the speaker of the parliament announced, a law which opposition politicians and activists allege will muzzle free speech.
The Online Safety Bill proposes jail terms for content that a five-member commission considers illegal and making social media platforms such as Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, Meta’s Facebook (META.O), opens new tab and X, formerly known as Twitter, liable for such content on their platforms. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government says the bill is aimed at battling cyber crime including child abuse, data theft and online fraud.
“Sri Lanka had 8,000 cyber crimes complaints last year. We all agree that we need laws to address these issues. This is why we are bringing this law,” Public Security Minister Tiran Alles said on Tuesday while introducing the bill in the house. “It is not to suppress the media or the opposition…Any complaint will be taken up by the commission, who will be appointed by the president and they will decide how to act.”
The bill was passed with a majority of 46 votes in the 225-member house, the speaker announced. 108 votes were in favour while 62 members voted against it. The Asian Internet Coalition (AIC), which has Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Google and Yahoo as members, warned Sri Lanka that the bill could impact investment in the country’s IT industry and called for extensive amendments to it.
“We unequivocally stand by our position that the Online Safety Bill, in its current form, is unworkable and would undermine potential growth and foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka’s digital economy,” the AIC said in a statement.
(Reuters)
