Sri Lanka to draft bill against spreading of false & misleading statements via social media

The Cabinet has approved the proposal to draft a bill against the spreading of false and misleading statements via social media.

The Legal Draftsman has been advised by the cabinet to draft the bill on the legislation pertaining to fake news.

Issuing a statement, the Cabinet said the spread of false information on the internet poses a serious threat and is seen as being used to divide society, to spread hatred, and to weaken democratic institutions.

It pointed out that various countries have already taken steps to legislate in order to address this problem.

Steps should be taken to provide access to accurate information to citizens and civil society by introducing a new law to protect society from the harm caused by false propaganda on the internet, the Cabinet said.

Therefore, the resolution tabled by Justice Minister Ali Sabry and Minister of Mass Media Keheliya Rambukwella to advise the legal draftsman to draft a bill for the relevant issue has been approved by the Cabinet of Minister.