By Uditha JayasingheCOLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's lawmakers are set to vote on a social media regulation bill on Wednesday 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 make social media platforms such as Google, Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, liable for those posted on their platforms.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe's government says the bill is aimed at battling cyber crimes including child abuse, data theft and online fraud.
This is why we are bringing this law," Public Security Minister Tiran Alles said on Tuesday while introducing the bill.
"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.
Persons:
Uditha Jayasinghe, Bill, Ranil Wickremesinghe's, Wickremesinghe, Tiran Alles, Eran Wickramaratne, Jana Balawegaya, Sudipto Ganguly, Raju Gopalakrishnan
Organizations:
Reuters, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Public, Asian Internet Coalition, AIC, Yahoo, Sri, Wednesday
Locations:
Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Lanka's