Personal Data Protection Bill should not be passed in haste: NMSJ

The recently proposed Personal Data Protection Bill must only be passed following a broad social discourse on the subject and it should not be passed in haste at this juncture, National Movement for Social Justice said.

The National Movement for Social Justice issuing a press release yesterday called on the Government and all lawmakers in Parliament to refrain from passing this Personal Data Protection Bill until its serious concerns are addressed.

The draft Bill was presented to Parliament only in January and it is expected to introduce new laws to protect personal data. While we fundamentally agree to its necessity, we however stress that it must not in any way be an obstacle to one’s Right to Information (RTI) or to freedom of media in the country.

"However, a number of interested parties have pointed out the possible negative consequences it would have on rights, especially pertaining to media freedom if this proposed bill comes into force. The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Press Institute and a number of other media rights organisations as well as RTI activists were among them. As such, the NMSJ strongly advocates the need for such legislation to be passed only by consensus, after extensive deliberation and dialogue on the issues raised by these organisations".

"This is imperative because this bill has failed to define what constitutes personal data and its various categories in a scenario where it also seeks to give vast powers to the proposed Data Authority that is yet to be confirmed as an independent body. As a result, the passing of this bill at this juncture could be detrimental to the country," it stated.