Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2023-09-04

Online Safety Bill

- The clearance of the Attorney General has been received for the Online Safety Bill prepared by the Legal Draftsman with the objective of protecting the civil society from damages caused by online falsehoods and manipulation. The following actions have been interpreted as offenses through the provisions of this Act, as indicated in the Part III of the Bill.

* Communication of false statements of facts in Sri Lanka
* Making false statements amounting to contempt
* Wantongly giving provocation by false statement to cause riot
* Disturbing a religious assembly by a false statement
* Communicating a false statement with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings
* Deliberate and malicious communication of false statement to outrage religious feelings
* Cheating
* Cheating by personation
* Intentional insult by false statement with intent to provoke a breach of peace
* Circulating false report with intent to cause mutiny or an offence against the state etc.
* Communicating statements of fact to cause harassment.
* Child abuse
* Making or altering bots to commit an offence

Accordingly, the proposal made by the Minister of Public Security to publish the said Bill in the Government Gazette and thereafter, submit the same to Parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.