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☆ Sri Lanka Votes on New Law to Regulate Online Content
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

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

☆ Sri Lanka to Continue Drug Crackdown Despite Rights Group Concerns - Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Uditha JayasingheCOLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka vowed to continue an anti-narcotics campaign that has seen more than 35,000 people detained over the last few weeks despite concerns raised by multiple rights groups, top officials said on Thursday. Sri Lankan police have detained 38,525 people since the operation - code-named "Yuktiya" or "Justice" - began in December. Thirty-three rights organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and International Commission of Jurists, this week expressed concerns over what they call "drastic intensification" of anti-narcotics operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations. There is no reasonable suspicion, the kind of people arrested have a lower marginalised economic status," said Thiyagi Ruwanpathirana, a researcher for Amnesty International Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had over 97,000 drug-related arrests in 2020 with 53% of arrests for heroin and 42% for cannabis including possession offences, according to latest data from state-run National Dangerous Drugs Control Board.

Persons: Uditha Jayasinghe, Tiran, Thiyagi Ruwanpathirana, Ruwanpathirana, Deshabandu Tennekoon, Sri, Toby Chopra Organizations: Reuters, Sri, Public, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, Drugs, Board Locations: Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's

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