By Yohan Perera in Daily Mirror, Nov 8, 2023COLOMBO:- Sri Lanka has been identified as a soft target for cybercriminals, and according to the 21st edition of Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report. Cryptocurrency mining malware, where cybercriminals seek illicit profits by using victim’s computers to mine cryptocurrency coins such as Bitcoins have increased in the country, according to the Supreme Court determination on Online Safety Bill. According to the determination, concerns are growing over foreign involvement…
Posts tagged as “safety”
by Amin Ahmed in Dawn, November 4th, 2023ISLAMABAD: Three UN agencies have expressed their deep concern over the safety and well-being of children and families affected by the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ and alarmed at the potential consequences of this plan’s implementation. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and Unicef, the UN Children’s Fund, continue to appeal to the international community to increase support for hosting vulnerable children and families and…
report in Daily Mirror, Oct 23, 2023The Bar Association, media institutions, advocacy groups, and more than 40 other petitioners challenged the Online Safety Bill in a two-day hearing before the Supreme Court judges Priyantha Jayawardhene, Achala Wengappuli, and Shiran Gunarathne last week. The petitioners warned that the Bill provides very little online safety but is drafted to stop people from expressing ideas and views on the internet and social media. They showed how the Bill…
Report in The Island, Oct 17, 2023Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has moved the Supreme Court against the ‘Online Safety’ Bill. The Catholic Church has sought the SC intervention in terms of Article 120 read with Articles 121 & 78 of the Constitution &/or Article 134 of the Constitution. The Cardinal’s petition is the latest in a series of cases filed against the Bill. The petition named the Attorney General as the respondent. The…
By Thira Lal Bhusal in The Kathmandu Post, Oct 16, 2023Ganesh Gurung has extensively studied the situation of Nepali migrant workers employed all over the world. In light of the tragic killing of 10 Nepali students in Israel, Thira Lal Bhusal of the Post sat with him to discuss pertinent issues of foreign employment including worker safety and ways to resolve them. Excerpts: The recent killings of Nepali students in Israel have again brought to…
report in Economy Next, Oct 6, 2023 at 08:09 pmSri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, who has tabled a controversial Online Safety Bill (OSB) in the parliament, has agreed to have broader consultation with key stakeholders before voting in the legislature. Opposition parties, media organizations, and social media activists have raised concerns over the government move to introduce the bill. Though the government initially said the expected legislation was to protect children and women…
Report in The Island, Oct 5, 2023The General Secretary of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara, SJB’s Rehan Jayawickrema, and Nidahas Janatha Sabhawa (SLPP rebel group) representative Prof. G.L. Peiris, MP, filed a joint petition yesterday (04) against the Online Safety Bill. They named the Attorney General as respondent. The petitioners HAVE pointed out that the Bill published in the government Gazette on 18 September and presented to Parliament on Tuesday (03),…
repoort in The Island, Oct 3, 2023The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) thas urged the government to revise the recently gazetted Online Safety Bill. It has made seven recommendations. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, the HRCSL has revealed its preliminary observations and recommendations on the controversial Bill. The HRCSL has said the general observations and recommendations are presented for consideration in view of revising the Bill…
By Lahiru Doloswala in Daily Morning, Oct 1, 2023The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), an industry association representing prominent Internet and technology companies, has voiced its apprehensions regarding the Government of Sri Lanka’s (GoSL) recent move to gazette the Online Safety Bill (OSB). Jeff Paine, the Managing Director of AIC, expressed concern over the lack of stakeholder consultation in the formulation of this legislation, which raises critical questions about the impact it may have on freedom…
report in Daily FT,, 23 September 2023The Lawyers’ Collective, a civil society group consisting of legal practitioners in Sri Lanka issued a statement yesterday condemning the recently proposed Anti-Terrorism and Online Safety Bills which were published through gazette announcements this year. The collective said the Government has failed to respond to the serious and fundamental concerns raised about the Anti-Terrorist Bill and adopt any transparent and accountable process through which the bills were explained, justified…