COLOMBO – The Free Media Movement (FMM) expresses grave concern over the tendency to indiscriminately block and impede the right to freedom of expression on social media.
During the coronavirus pandemic, a number of individuals who had expressed various opinions on social media regarding the pandemic were arrested. It was recently stated further arrests would be made in this regard.
In November 2020, many individuals in the North and East were detained and questioned by security forces over comments and circulation of posts on social media. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Batticaloa District Parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam brought this matter to the attention of Parliament on December 5.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that a teacher working at a school in the Jayawardenepura educational zone was given a show-cause notice by the authorities last week for criticizing the education authorities on social media.
The right to freedom of expression can be restricted for national security, circulating false news and preventing hate speech. However, all of this must be implemented following the law and not as an encroachment on the people’s right to enjoy the freedom guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution, and further validated by various judgments.
FMM has observed that in the above incidents, the security forces, the police, and various officials have acted to invade the legal limits and provision, while obstructing the freedom to express views on social media through several measures. While urging caution about the new development, the Free Media Movement urged all responsible parties, including the government to guarantee the protection of the right to freedom of expression, which is a constitutional right and urges all parties to come forward to defeat this unfavourable trend.
– Free Media Movement