A tense exchange took place between Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weerarathne and MP Namal Rajapaksa during the second reading of the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Bill.
MP Rajapaksa questioned several areas of the bill, particularly regarding the location of proposed data centres and the custodianship of national data. “Where will the data centres be? You can respond if you know. Who is the custodian?” he asked.
In response, Deputy Minister Weerarathne said that the government has initiated a tender process to acquire new data centres. “You are not aware of this government’s digitalisation programme. Existing data centres from previous administrations are no longer functioning properly. We have therefore called for new tenders for a government cloud-based data centre,” he said.
Weerarathne also addressed concerns regarding the digital identification project. “Earlier agreements would have allowed foreign access—specifically India—to our systems at any time. We’ve since amended these agreements to ensure national data sovereignty,” he said.
Rajapaksa challenged the Deputy Minister’s claims, stating, “They’re saying data will be leaked to India. How can that be? The Data Protection Act was brought to prevent such leaks. Are you making this statement responsibly?”
Weerarathne reiterated that updated agreements ensure only Sri Lankans can access the system, and that all relevant details are included in the tender documentation.
“Please don’t lie. If you do, it’s the Foreign Minister who will have to deal with the consequences,” Rajapaksa added. (Newswire)