Tech Giants expressed alarm over Sri Lanka’s Proposed Online Safety Bill
By: Staff Writer
January 11, Colombo (LNW): In presenting the Online Safety Bill, Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister faced a torrent of criticism from across the aisle.
The Online Safety Bill has been rightfully criticised for its deliberate vagueness. The Bill purports to be safeguarding individuals “against damage caused by communication of false statements or threatening, alarming or distressing statements”.
The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), representing major tech companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon, has voiced strong concerns about Sri Lanka’s draft Online Safety Bill, urging the government to make extensive revisions before passing the legislation.
In a letter to Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, the AIC warned that the bill, in its current form, poses several critical threats including the following:
The bill defines “prohibited statements” too broadly, potentially criminalizing legitimate online discourse.
In an era of misinformation and instant social media, a carefully considered move along those lines may be welcome. However, this bill is both blunt and menacing.
It fails to define what such statements may be and instead envisions a five-member Online Safety Commission which would establish these terms and would be directly appointed and dismissed by Sri Lanka’s president.
Commentators in the South of the island have rightfully noted Wickremesinghe’s track record of cracking down on anti-government demonstrators, trade union leaders, and student protesters.
The early weeks of his rule serve as painful reminders.What has often been unstated, however, is how this legislation will deliberately further entrench power for Sinhala Buddhist ideologues.
A key aspect of the bill is to criminalise “offense to religious feelings”. Yet on the island, only one religion continues to reign supreme.
Sri Lanka has already seen the detention of comedians, poets, authors and even tourists who were deemed to have criticised or even poked fun at Buddhism or its ideology.
This bill will grant authorities even more power to detain people over such perceived infarctions. The proposal of the legislation comes at an even more distressing period.
Tech Giants vehemently protests over Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Bill In presenting the Online Safety Bill, Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister faced a torrent of criticism from across the aisle.
The Online Safety Bill has been rightfully criticised for its deliberate vagueness. The Bill purports to be safeguarding individuals “against damage caused by communication of false statements or threatening, alarming or distressing statements”.
In an era of misinformation and instant social media, a carefully considered move along those lines may be welcome. However, this bill is both blunt and menacing.
It fails to define what such statements may be and instead envisions a five-member Online Safety Commission which would establish these terms and would be directly appointed and dismissed by Sri Lanka’s president.
