ECONOMYNEXT – The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) refuted claims made by Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles that they expressed agreement with the Online Safety Bill, when tabling it in Parliament.
“The Asia Internet Coalition would like to address and refute certain assertions made in the statement read by the Minister of Public Security in Parliament concerning the Online Safety Bill,” the statement that was co-signed by Google, Meta, X, LinkedIn and Bookings.com said.
“The Minister’s statement does not accurately reflect the substantial contributions that the AIC has made throughout the legislative process, which include comprehensive submissions as well as engagements such as hosting representatives from the Ministry of Public Security at the annual Online Safety Forum organised by the AIC in Singapore.”
The Coalition said that the engagements and representations eventually culminated with its last submission to the Ministry on 8 January 2024, an open letter addressed to the Public Security Minister, warning him of the potential for the piece of legislation to undermine Sri Lanka’s digital economy.
“Despite our commitment to constructive collaboration, the AIC has not been privy to proposed amendments to the bill. 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.”
Yesterday (23), Alles said that intermediaries of the platforms within the Coalition had expressed agreement with the piece of legislation.
“Various international organisations engaged in discussions with us. We were engaged in discussions for 3 months and came to an agreement. We took those amendments and agreed to take more amendment suggestions by the Asian Internet Coalition,” Alles said.
“I told the Asian Coalition to send their suggestions, so that we could include them in the bill. When these were brought before the Judge, there were suggestions that were incompatible with the Sri Lankan constitution, and then decided that the suggestions we agreed on should be brought in at later stages. But we were able to bring in some suggestions we had agreed on.
“I have been talking with them for the last few days, and I promised them to include their suggestions, the ones that are acceptable, along with those of the Supreme Court into the Bill, after tomorrow’s vote, and that I would present the suggestions to the Cabinet of Ministers and then gazette them. So all parties who were consulted have agreed to see this to be implemented as amendments to the Act.” (Colombo/Jan24/2024)
Source: Economy Next