Minister of Education, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, has announced that it is expected to provide internet access to all secondary schools in Sri Lanka by the end of 2026.

PM Amarasuriya said that Rs. 5,000 unlimited data packages have been introduced to schools for this purpose. 

She further said that it has been proposed to provide smartboards and other computer equipment to around 1,000 schools, adding that Cabinet approval has been received in this regard. 

The Education Minister also revealed that it has been decided to distribute 1,900 smart boards to 1,500 schools.

A National Education Management System is being developed with the support of the Sri Lanka Air Force under the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative, she added.

PM Harini Amarasuriya made the remarks while addressing the Parliament today. (Newswire)

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The Pakistan Tele­communication Authority (PTA) chairman has admitted that blocking access to the internet was a ‘legal grey area’ and called for the ministries of law and interior to justify its legality.

In a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology on Wednesday, retired Maj-Gen Hafeezur Rehman said internet shutdowns have been taking place since 2016, and their legality has been brought under question only recently.

He added that the ministries of law and interior must provide a final legal opinion on this matter.

During the meeting, the committee members questioned the telecom regulator’s chief over the practice of shutting down internet services, particularly on the Ministry of Interior’s orders.

Senators Kamran Murtaza and Humayun Mohmand questioned the legal framework governing the blocking of internet services and social media platforms.

Senator Murtaza challenged the legality of these actions, asking what law empowered the PTA to block the internet.

The PTA chairman responded that the rules allowed the Interior Ministry to direct the regulator to block content or services but emphasised that the law did not specify the blocking of internet services in any particular area.

Senator Murtaza said the parliamentary committee should be provided with a clear legal framework for such actions.

The committee chairman, Senator Palwasha Khan, also expressed serious concerns over slow internet speeds across Pakistan and the legal ambiguities surrounding internet shutdowns and content blocking.

The committee was informed that increasing the network of fibre optic cables was the only solution to improve internet speed.

The committee was told that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure fibre expansion.

Mr Rehman also conceded that the internet speed would remain slow unless significant improvements were made in the digital infrastructure.

He emphasised that the expansion of fibre optic networks, also known as “fiberisation,” was key to boosting internet speed.

Senator Khan stressed the urgent need for better digital infrastructure, particularly the expansion of fibre optic networks, to address the issue of slow internet speeds.

VPN blocking

When asked about curbs on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), the PTA chairman clarified he had not authorised their closure.

He further explained that the regulator had initiated the process to register VPN service providers on Dec 19, and two companies have applied for licences.

The regulator has introduced the new licensing category for service providers to address the problem of what officials call unregistered VPNs, as all but those proxies provided by licensed companies would be dee­med unregistered and blocked.

With licensed service providers, authorities would be able to monitor the VPN traffic, as anonymity provided by proxy networks has been one of the biggest gripes of the authorities.

The plan envisages that local com-panies — bound by Pakistan’s laws, terms of their licences, and regulatory provisions — will provide proxy services to users.

This will enable the regulator to exert more control on these companies, as opposed to the status quo, where most VPN providers are foreign companies.

Content moderation

The committee was also briefed on PTA’s efforts to regulate social media content.

Mr Rehman said the PTA receives around 500 complaints daily related to harmful or illegal content on social media platforms.

“We are in continuous dialogue with social media companies to block harmful content, but there remains a significant gap in enforcement,” the PTA chairman added.

The committee also called for clear legal guidelines on internet governance, content blocking and the responsibilities of government agencies in managing digital services. (Dawn)

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Colombo Additional Magistrate Keminda Perera has ordered the Police Children & Women Bureau to launch investigations into the possession and sharing on the internet of explicit videos and pictures of underaged Sri Lankan children.

It is reported that the Court order was issued yesterday after the Magistrate had considered facts presented by the Police Children & Women Bureau claiming that the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US had informed Sri Lankan authorities in this regard. 

The court was informed that the NCMEC was an organization with members from 08 countries and has software that can detect explicit videos and pictures of underaged children of its member states being shared on the internet. 

The Police Children & Women Bureau informed the court that it has received information on several parties in Sri Lanka looking to share such distorted and explicit videos and pictures on the internet. 

Stating that the Police Children & Women Bureau has also received several complaints in this regard, the institution told the court that, however, they have been unable to find a victim as yet. (Newswire)

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The Cabinet has approved the proposal to award the contract to obtain high-speed satellite technical internet connectivity for seven A330-300 model aircraft of Sri Lankan Airlines Limited for a period of 07 years. 

The government states that Lankan Airlines Limited at present operates a fleet of 13 aircraft with internet facilities enabling passengers to use Wi-Fi facilities and GSM services on their mobile phones in-flight. 

As passengers have to use low internet speed with the outdated internet facilities existing at present, the need to provide fast internet application facilities has been identified. 

Ka and Ku bands are used for high-end connections, and due to the availability of a high-frequency range, the Ka-band provides high-speed data transfer. Therefore, it has been identified that Ka-band connections are more suitable for internet access, other structured services and other activities that require huge amounts of data. 

Accordingly, the proposal presented by the Viasat Institute, the only supplier to give Ka-band connectivity providing hardware, software and internet facilities with global coverage for commercial aircraft, has been appraised by the Technical Evaluation Committee and the Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers and the recommendations have been forwarded. 

The Cabinet has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Ports, shipping and Aviation to award the contract to Viasat Inc. to obtain Ka-band high-speed satellite technical internet connectivity for seven A330-300 model aircraft of Sri Lankan Airlines Limited for 07 years under the said recommendations. (Newswire)

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A total of 17,629 pornographic video clips and photos related to children have been uploaded to the internet between 17th June and 28th July 2021. 

Police Media Spokesman Senior DIG Ajith Rohana said the content has been uploaded via laptops, desktops, phones, and tabs in Sri Lanka.

He said a special unit was established at the Police Children and Women Bureau to monitor pornographic material related to children. The unit has been named the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. 

Various social media platforms were monitored by the unit, while modern technology was used to trace suspects posting pornographic content related to children on the internet. 

Senior DIG Ajith Rohana said the suspects have been identified and a special police team has been deployed today to trace and apprehend the suspects.

He further said that the Police will also trace people who have shared or forwarded such content to various parties. 

A joint investigation is being conducted by the Police Children and Women Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Department in this regard. (NewsWire)

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