The Government is gearing up election season and is deploying all the tools at their disposal to ensure that they return to power. To a keen observer of Sri Lankan politics, the reason why the much criticised Online Safety Bill (OSB), is being pushed forward and will be taken up for debate and vote next week. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and their Parliamentarians fear public dissent and worry that at the upcoming elections, their votes will erode. They have now recognised the power of free speech for dissent and the power of mass mobilisation which comes via social media platforms and messaging services. They have witnessed the power of the mobilised masses, youth movement through the lessons they learnt from the “Aragalaya” protest movement, which for the first time in Sri Lankan history managed to evict an elected President and force a Prime Minister to resign.

Concerned citizens, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and even global tech giants / key social media platforms – the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), have expressed their concern about the Government's push to throttle free speech. However, realistically only 113 votes will be needed to pass this legislature. They have expressed strong reservation and made recommendations to formulate a better defined piece of legislation that is on par with international best practices. “It is crucial to ensure that the Bill is not only effective but also balanced, proportionate and practical in its scope and approach. The proposed legislation, in its present form, poses significant challenges that, if not addressed comprehensively, could undermine the potential growth of Sri Lanka's digital economy,” the AIC said in a letter addressed to Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, the visible driving force behind the bill. The AIC called for a review of the existing legislation to ensure consistency and regulatory certainty, adding that offences relating to religious feelings and terrorism in particular are already covered under other legislations. The AIC has recommended that the Bill should also be limited in scope to the relevant intermediaries, and should not apply to private communication services, such as one to one messaging platforms, the recommendations read.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday (16) questioned if the Government of Sri Lanka was getting ready to go to war with global ICT service providers, search engines and social media platforms with little regard to what impact it can have on the nation and its fragile economy. Yes, some countries have gone against the tide and tightly regulated such with authoritarian efficiency. However, Sri Lanka does not have the economic clout of countries like China, which is not a democratic nation, to seek to replicate such control over the populace. The Government seems hell bent on pushing through the disastrous legislation, only to secure short-term electoral gains. The damage it can do to Sri Lanka is unsalable. Yes, social media and the digital domain does need some form of regulation, however railroading the OSB with its questionable political influencing loopholes will do little to right the wrongs of the digital domain. Let us not hold our breath to find out if the OSB ends up being misused like the ICCPR. 

While the SLPP-lead Government may be hell bent on curbing dissent and preventing the youth mobilising to vote against them, the opposition parties have collectively called for the bill to be shelved. The SJB MP has pledged that if the current Government enacts the Online Safety Bill, a future Government under the leadership of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will promptly repeal the legislation. De Silva questioned, “Are we set to engage in conflict with Facebook? Will we jeopardise our access to Google and YouTube?” He pointed out that under such circumstances, companies like Google and YouTube may choose to abstain from conducting business in Sri Lanka. 

While the Government is clearly having tunnel vision and chasing political goals via the Bill, if Sri Lanka were to lose access or even limit access to global search engines, and social media platforms, it would impact our economy, tourism and brand image significantly. Sri Lanka has hedged its bets on tourism revival for economic recovery. If the OSB is enforced and the Government with its track record of misusing legislation to punish dissidents and critics, may act heavy handedly, resulting in Sri Lanka being viewed as a nation where there is no freedom of expression. A nation that may be cut off from social media platforms would see a majority of their MiSME’s and tour operators and small venues lose their main means of communication, promotion and branding.

As such the public must raise their voice and be heard about this dangerous piece of legislation and work to prevent it from being enacted.