Opposition lawmaker Harshana Rajakaruna said he plans to submit a private member’s bill to Parliament this week seeking amendments to Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act to strengthen protections for children on social media platforms.

He said the proposed amendment to the Online Safety Act, No. 9 of 2024, will focus on safeguarding children from online harm, including measures to verify users’ ages, require parental consent, assess child safety risks, and address harassment and harmful content on social media and several other important aspects.

Rajakaruna said many countries have already introduced laws to reduce online harassment targeting children, but Sri Lanka has yet to implement adequate safeguards. As a responsible opposition, Rajakaruna said his party intends to formally request Parliament to consider such legislation.

He urged the government to consider the bill without political divisions, stressing that child protection should remain a shared priority. He called for Parliament to act swiftly to approve the proposed amendments.

Rajakaruna also raised concerns about the negative impact of excessive social media use on children, noting increased exposure to harmful content and reduced social interaction that often leads to unchecked access, which could affect children’s long-term development. (Newswire)

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The Collective for Social Media Declaration (CSMD) has expressed concerns regarding three critical matters of public policy and governance that it says require urgent attention and greater transparency from the government.

In a letter addressed to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, CSMD has raised concerns regarding the Online Safety Act (OSA), e-NIC project, and media agreements signed with Chinese state broadcasters and information departments.

“Your Excellency, your administration came to power promising a different approach to governance. However, these three instances suggest a concerning continuation of previous patterns of policy implementation without adequate public consultation or transparency. The government already knows how much a robust democracy requires not just good policies but also clear communication, public accountability, and meaningful stakeholder engagement in the policymaking process. We only ask that the promises made around a shift in, and the desperately needed reform of our political culture, including policymaking, are realised,” it said.

CSMD further urged the President to address these concerns by immediately making public the relevant documentation, establishing clear consultation frameworks, seeking input from experts, and ensuring that all policy decisions are communicated in a timely manner with the transparency and accountability that the Sri Lankan people deserve. (Newswire)

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Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage has filed a case at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court against an individual and two US firms for sharing defamatory videos against him on social media.

The case was filed at the court on Tuesday (May 07) by the Army Commander under the provisions of the Online Safety Act.

Thushara Saliya Ranawaka of Sri Lankan origin living overseas, and American multinational corporation Google and its online video-sharing platform YouTube have been named respondents. 

Filing his case, the Army Commander has requested the court to issue a notice to the respondents to appear before the court and to issue an order preventing the defamatory videos from being further circulated on social media. (Newswire)

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The government is taking steps to amend the recently passed Online Safety Act due to objections from various parties, Lankadeepa Newspaper reported.

According to Lankadeepa, 47 amendments related to the Act are to be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers today (Feb 12).

Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles is expected to present the amendments to modify 47 sections of the Act, which is expected to receive Cabinet approval today. 

Once the Amended Act is gazetted, it is most likely to be taken up for the first reading in Parliament on February 20, 2024. 

Objections were raised by several parties, including the Opposition, concerning several articles of the Online Safety Bill. 

The Opposition Leader had also recently raised concerns in the Parliament on how the Online Safety Bill had been passed without considering the amendments highlighted by the Supreme Court. (NewsWire)

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Sri Lanka Police has refuted recent reports of an individual being arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) under provisions of the recently passed Online Safety Act (OSA), it was reported.

According to The Morning, the Police have refuted the claims, despite the Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles speaking on the Online Safety Act at a public event on Saturday, spoke about an arrest that had been made.

The minister claimed that the individual had allegedly slandered politicians on social media platforms with the support of a particular politician and had been arrested by the CID.

“They use social media platforms to defame us, the Government, the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) and everyone else. That is why we introduced this OSA. It is social media platforms that they use even to topple Governments. I emphasise that OSA will be an issue only to those who misuse social media platforms.” he said.

However, Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa clarified that the arrest had not been made under the Online Safety Act.

SSP Thalduwa said that an individual had been arrested but under the previous legal provisions and not the newly passed Online Safety Act.

When the initial report was published, several lawyers pointed out that the Online Safety Act is still not operative as several other legal requirements are pending, including appointing a commission. 

The Online Safety Bill was passed in Parliament with amendments and a majority vote on January 24, amidst objections from Opposition politicians and activists who alleged that the new law will hinder the rights and freedoms of the people. (NewsWire)

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The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) states that several sections and omissions in the Online Safety Act appear to be non-compliant with the Supreme Court’s Determination on the Bill.

Issuing a statement, the HRCSL said that in its Determination on the Online Safety Bill, the Supreme Court found that over thirty clauses in the Bill and certain omissions in the Bill were inconsistent with Article 12(1), and in some cases, Article 1a(1)(a) of the Sri Lankan Constitution. 

It was, therefore, incumbent on Parliament to introduce all necessary amendments recommended by the Court if it was to enact the said Bill with a simple majority.

The Supreme Court required five categories to be separately exempted from liability for the Bill to be deemed consistent with the Constitution. However, how the Act implements the Court’s recommendation appears to be erroneous, the HRCSL pointed out.

The Commission said it is deeply concerned about the omissions in the Online Safety Act in terms of the Act’s full compliance with the Supreme Court’s Determination. 

“Any such omission, and consequently, any remaining inconsistency with the Constitution, would have required that the Online Safety Bill be enacted only with a special majority in Parliament. Therefore, the failure to ensure full compliance with the Court’s determination may give occasion to serious concerns over whether the Act, in its current form, received the requisite number of votes in Parliament,” the Commission added.

The Online Safety Bill was passed in the Parliament of Sri Lanka on January 24, 2024, with a majority of MPs supporting the bill, despite the Opposition claiming that the amendments proposed were not consistent with the Supreme Court’s determination. (NewsWire)

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