Sri Lanka Police has refuted recent reports of an individual being arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) under provisions of the recently passed Online Safety Act (OSA), it was reported.
According to The Morning, the Police have refuted the claims, despite the Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles speaking on the Online Safety Act at a public event on Saturday, spoke about an arrest that had been made.
The minister claimed that the individual had allegedly slandered politicians on social media platforms with the support of a particular politician and had been arrested by the CID.
“They use social media platforms to defame us, the Government, the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) and everyone else. That is why we introduced this OSA. It is social media platforms that they use even to topple Governments. I emphasise that OSA will be an issue only to those who misuse social media platforms.” he said.
However, Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa clarified that the arrest had not been made under the Online Safety Act.
SSP Thalduwa said that an individual had been arrested but under the previous legal provisions and not the newly passed Online Safety Act.
When the initial report was published, several lawyers pointed out that the Online Safety Act is still not operative as several other legal requirements are pending, including appointing a commission.
The Online Safety Bill was passed in Parliament with amendments and a majority vote on January 24, amidst objections from Opposition politicians and activists who alleged that the new law will hinder the rights and freedoms of the people. (NewsWire)