GNI Urges Human Rights Reforms to Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act

August 4, 2025  |  News, Policy

The Global Network Initiative (GNI), a multistakeholder organization focused on technology and human rights, has released detailed recommendations to guide reforms to Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act (OSA) 2024. GNI welcomed the Sri Lankan government’s decision to revisit the OSA and recognized its renewed commitment to a more participatory and transparent legislative process as an important step forward.

Read the full set of recommendations here

Read GNI’s submission to the Committee to Amend the Online Safety Act

GNI has followed the development of the OSA since its inception and remains deeply concerned about a number of its provisions that pose significant risks to freedom of expression and privacy. These include broadly and vaguely defined categories of prohibited content, disproportionate penalties for online speech, and the establishment of an Online Safety Commission that lacks adequate independence or regulatory oversight.

The statement emphasises that these elements, if left unaddressed, risk undermining Sri Lankans’ ability to freely express themselves, access information, and participate in democratic debate online. They may also have chilling effects on civil society, media freedom, and innovation in Sri Lanka’s digital economy.

GNI encourages the government to ensure that the ongoing review of the OSA is open, inclusive, and in line with Sri Lanka’s constitutional and international human rights obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In support of this process, GNI has published specific legal and policy recommendations drawn from its multistakeholder policy framework on content regulation and human rights.

Key recommendations include:

• Narrowing vague provisions such as those penalizing “false statements” and “religious insult” to meet international standards of legality, necessity, and proportionality;
• Ensuring an independent and transparent process for appointing members to the Online Safety Commission;
• Aligning the Act with Sri Lanka’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and embedding safeguards for privacy, encryption, and due process;
• Introducing mechanisms for remediation, whistleblower protections, and public interest litigation;
• Conducting human rights impact assessments and mandating public consultations for any future amendments.
• The recommendations draw on GNI’s Content Regulation and Human Rights Policy Brief, which analyzes more than 20 legislative initiatives globally and offers practical guidance for developing rights-respecting content regulation frameworks.

In addition, GNI expressed concern over the OSA’s broad definition of “intermediary,” which could impose disproportionate compliance burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises and hinder innovation.

GNI has also reiterated its offer to support Sri Lanka’s reform efforts by convening relevant experts from civil society and the private sector, and by providing further analysis grounded in international human rights law.