INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Second Reading of the Online Safety Bill was passed in Parliament today (Jan
24) with a majority of 46 votes.A total of 108 MPs had voted in favour, while 62 had voted against the Bill.The Sectoral Oversight Committee
on Media, Youth, Heritage and New Citizen recently approved the Online Safety Bill, subject to the amendments determined by the Supreme
Court.The bill was approved when the Sectoral Oversight Committee met in Parliament on Monday (22) under the chairmanship of the MP Lalith
Thus, the bill, which was tabled in Parliament by Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles was taken for the second reading debate on Tuesday
(23) and Wednesday (24).The Online Safety Bill, published in the government gazette on September 18, aims to ban online communication of
to suppress the financing and other support of communication of false statements and other related matters.However, the Bill has come under
fire for some of its problematic aspects, with 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) voicing concerns.A total of 45 petitions had been put forward by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Samagi
bill is in violation of the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution.Later, the Supreme Court,
after concluding the deliberation of petitions, communicated its determination on the constitutionality of the Bill and its provisions to
President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Speaker of Parliament, emphasizing that pursuant to Article 84(2) of the Constitution, Clauses 3, 5, 7,
9, 11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 37, 42, 45, 53, and 56 should be passed by a
