If the controversial Online Safety Bill is passed in Sri Lanka, social media companies are likely to terminate all its communication and collaborative links with Sri Lankan state institutions with effect from January 24.
Once the proposed Online Safety Bill (OSB) is enacted, the country will have its own legal mechanism to deal with social media related issues, hence, there will be no requirements of these existing mechanisms, according to tech company sources.
As a result, Meta (Facebook), Youtube, Google, X and other members of AIC will stop their current special communication and collaborative channels with state institutions.
The government will have the controversial OSB’s second reading on January 23 and it is expected to pass on Wednesday (24).
Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), the Singapore-based gathering of tech companies, has repeatedly requested the government to revise the proposed controversial piece of legislation in consultation with stakeholders, but the House is supposed to consider the same Bill that was challenged through unprecedented 52 cases in the Supreme Court.
The ministry dispatched a delegation to Singapore last month to conduct extended discussions with AIC, and it is unclear whether these suggestions were incorporated into a revised Bill as the government was in a hurry to pass it before the end of January.
On January 8, AIC issued a statement rejecting the bill and claiming that they would not be in a position to collaborate if the original form of the bill is moved to Parliament.
Therefore, tech companies are likely to suspend their links with the Computer Crime Division of the Police, CERT, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, and the President’s Office once the Bill is passed in Parliament.
This could even affect the ongoing police investigations into computer and social media criminal cases, industry sources added. (NewsWire)