Online Safety Bill: Coalition refutes Minister’s statement
An influential trade body that represents Big Tech firms such as Meta, Apple, Amazon, X (formerly Twitter), Google, Snap Inc., and others today refuted certain claims made by Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Tiran Alles in his statement in Parliament, concerning the controversial Online Safety Bill.
In a statement, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) challenged the Minister’s recent claims, saying that they “do not accurately reflect the substantial contributions that the AIC has made throughout the legislative process.”
They also highlighted that despite their contributions, the AIC was not made aware of any amendments to the Online Safety Bill.
However, the AIC emphasized that while their submissions to the Minister on the Online Safety Bill included “comprehensive submissions as well as engagements such as hosting representatives from the Ministry of Public Security at the annual Online Safety Forum organized by the AIC in Singapore” they stand by their stance that the relevant Bill, in its current form, is “unworkable.”
“We unequivocally stand by our position that the Online Safety Bill, in its current form, is unworkable and would undermine potential growth and foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka’s digital economy.”
“We firmly believe that for the Bill to align with global best practices, extensive revisions are imperative,” the AIC asserted.
On Jan. 8, the AIC expressed their concerns to Public Security Minister Tiran Alles that the proposed Bill poses “significant challenges that, if not addressed comprehensively, could undermine the potential growth of Sri Lanka’s digital economy.”
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