The cabinet has approved a bill presented by minister of public security Tiran Alles that aims to ensure online security and prevent disinformation.
Its primary objective is to protect the public from the detrimental consequences of widespread dissemination of false information and malicious posts on social media.
As per the proposal, actions interpreted as offences are communicating false statements about events in Sri Lanka, making false statements that result in insult, gratuitously inciting a riot through a false statement, disrupting a religious meeting via a false statement and communicating a false statement with the clear intention of harming religious sentiments, disseminating a blatantly and maliciously false statement with the intent to offend religious feelings.
Also included are fraud, impersonation, intentional slander through a false statement with the intent to incite a breach of the peace, circulation of a false statement with the intent to ferment rebellion or commit an offence against the government and child abuse or engagement in any criminal activity related to children.
