ICJ calls for repeal or substantial revision of Online Safety Act

Expression
By Editor_1
Activists protest ahead of the passage of Sri Lanka's Online Safety Act in Colombo on Jan. 24, 2024 - Reuters

BANGKOK – On September  12, 2025, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) submitted observations on the widely criticized Online Safety Act, No. 09 of 2024, in response to the Sri Lankan Government’s call for public input on amendments. The ICJ urged the government to repeal the Act in its current form or substantially revise it to bring it into compliance with Sri Lanka’s international human rights law obligations, and to ensure that the revision process involves full and inclusive consultations with stakeholders.

The Act, which came into force in February 2024, is elaborated in a manner likely to undermine human rights guarantees and lead to further shrinking civic space. As the Act has begun to be implemented over the past year, these human rights risks have materialized in practice.

The first arrest under the Act occurred in February 2024, when a suspect was accused of conducting online smear campaigns against the government under the alleged instructions of a politician. Since then, public authorities and parliamentarians have invoked the Act to accuse individuals of spreading vaguely defined and overly broad “prohibited statements”.

In its submission, the ICJ emphasized that several provisions of the Act threaten the enjoyment of rights to freedom of expression, opinion, and information guaranteed under Article 14(1)(a) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sri Lanka is a party.

Key concerns include:

  • The overly broad powers of the Online Safety Commission and appointed ‘experts’;
  • Vague and overbroad offences;
  • Disproportionate sanctions and punishments;
  • Lack of adequate judicial oversight; and
  • Disproportionate impact on transgender and gender-diverse persons.

The Act was drafted with the stated objective “to protect persons against harm caused by communication of prohibited statements, by way of an online account or through an online location”.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs has appointed a committee to review the Act and consider amendments, which were published in the Gazette on  July 31, 2024. According to the Minister of Public Security, the committee is chaired by the Solicitor General and includes representatives from the Attorney General’s Department, the Ministries of Justice, Public Security, and Media, as well as a Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police from the Criminal Investigation Department.

– icj.org

Editor_1

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