Is the NPP happy with the Online Safety Act

The Government has postponed the passage of the ‘Protection of Occupants Bill’ following protests by the Opposition, sections of the corporate sector and the civil society. However, leaders of the Government stated that the Bill is initially formulated by the previous government in 2023, which is true.

When the Opposition protested against the education reforms for the implementation of which the National People’s Power (NPP) Government took steps weeks ago, the government leaders stated the same. They said that it was not an entirely new set of proposals, but one initiated in 2019 by the then United National Party (UNP)-led Government with modifications by the current Government. It was also true.

Also, they have already explained that the new Constitution they are planning to bring in would be based on the public consultations conducted by the so-called Yahapalana Government in 2016. And they are continuing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sponsored programme that was initiated in 2022 by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government, the Online Safety Act (OSA) passed by the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government in January, 2024 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) enacted by the J.R. Jayewardene Government in 1979. 

Just because the NPP Government had vowed to bring in system change, it is not expected to discard everything that the previous governments introduced. However, continuing with the OSA and the PTA which the NPP and its core party the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) vehemently opposed along with local and international human rights defenders, is a matter of concern. 

The repealing or the replacement of the PTA seems to be a tricky issue for the NPP Government under the current circumstances, despite the JVP having been demanding its total revocation since the passage of it 47 years ago, in 1979. However, amending the OSA is a different matter since almost all political parties except for a small group who were instrumental to the passage of it want to refashion, it in line with the Supreme Court recommendations issued in 2023. 

When the Online Safety Bill (OSB) was gazette on September 18, 2023 by the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government, 45 petitions were filed against it alleging that the Bill is in violation of the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution. The Supreme Court judgment on the Bill which was announced in Parliament by the Speaker on November 7, 2023 had ruled that 31 out of the 56 clauses of the Bill were inconsistent with the Constitution. It also noted however that if the 31 clauses referred to are amended at the committee stage of the Parliamentary debate on the Bill, it can be passed by a simple majority.

Also, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) which consists of multiple tech giants including Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Yahoo, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), and the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) voiced concerns, when it was first published in the government gazette. 

The Wickremesinghe Government, though accepting the Supreme Court recommendations, did not fully comply with them and accommodated only a section of them when the Bill was put to vote in Parliament, pledging to make further amendments to the Act later. But they never kept that pledge. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) said, “Having carefully reviewed the Online Safety Act, the Commission observed that several sections and omissions in the Act appear to be non-compliant with the Supreme Court’s Determination on the Online Safety Bill…”

Regulation of online contents is essential as the online platforms are being highly misused to harm the others. Cyberbullying, trolling, threatening, sexting, hate mongering, blackmailing, revenge porn are all facts, not imaginations. Many NPP members of Parliament have lodged so many complaints with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over online trolling and defamation of them by the supporters of the opposition parties.  However, the Supreme Court has given a framework for the law that is meant to protect the people from such online harms.

The NPP was in the forefront among the political parties that were up in arms over the flaws of the original Bill as well as the Wickremesinghe Government’s failure to fully comply with the Supreme Court recommendations. It is ironic that the party is now dragging its feet in amending the Act.

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