Arrestees confessed to acting on instructions: KeheliyaSpeaks of technologies to monitor social mediaBASL concerned over Police misuse of circular, cognisable offenceWeb journos highlight N-E suppression, coverup of Government’s sinsFMM seeks clarity on ‘fake news’ definitionBy Yoshita PereraBy sharing fake news on social media networks, some people are pushing the country towards re-enacting the criminal defamation law which was repealed in 2002, the Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. He said this on Friday (11) while responding to The Sunday Morning’s query on the conflict which would arise with the exercise of the freedom of expression when arrests are made for the purported cognisable offence of sharing fake news on social media. “We can see that within this censorship, the Government is trying to suppress social media that is a social platform for criticism. However, through this restriction, the Government is trying to put the law forward and control the rising surge of social media against the offences committed by the Government,” he said. Sharing her views on the Government’s move to criminalise fake news, the Free Media Movement Convenor Seetha Ranjani said that the problem lies in how to define fake news and on what basis something would be considered fake news.

Source: The Nation June 12, 2021 18:05 UTC