Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella in a statement says that a remark he made regarding social media, has been portrayed in a garbled manner where the true meaning is not conveyed.
Speaking to reporters in Kandy yesterday, Minister said that his ministry has formulated a plan to register Facebook and all Social Media users in the country.
Issuing a statement clarifying his remarks, Minister says that the government has been considering registering foreign digital operators and not social media and digital platform users.
Full Statement
Special Statement made by Hon. Keheliya Rambukwella, Minister of Mass Media
The statement circulating with regards to the social media regulation, has been portrayed in a garbled manner where the true meaning is not conveyed. While acknowledging this, I would like to clarify that the government’s intention is not to register social media users but to convey a mounting concern shared by governments across the world, that these digital multinational conglomerates are overwhelming and alienating our local businesses by data colonization. This is directly impacting our medium scale companies. This view is also shared by leading industrialists in Sri Lanka. These predatory techniques leads to huge sums of money leaving the country through these digital platforms. Therefore the government has been considering registering foreign digital operators and not social media and digital platform users.