A bill aiming to repeal the Online Safety Act No. 9 of 2024 has been gazetted. Submitted by opposition MP Ravi Karunanayake, the bill will also repeal any regulations related to the Online Safety Act.
Since its first draft, the Online Safety Act has come under criticism for its overt nature and the potential for weaponizing it against the citizenry. Well over a year after passing into law, there is already evidence of how the Act is being mobilized despite the continuous opposition.
The newly appointed government stated it’s exploring the possibility of amending the Online Safety Act. In February, the Attorney General’s Department notified that the government was working on introducing amendments to the act. The Solicitor General also noted that amendments were in the works from the previous government, but efforts were halted when the parliament was dissolved.
As of now, it remains to be seen how these amendments will take form or how the bill to repeal the law pans out.
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