A five-judge Supreme Court (SC) bench has been appointed to consider the fundamental rights (FR) petitions filed challenging the passing of the Online Safety Act (OSA) in Parliament.
The petitions were called before the Judge bench Chaired by President’s Counsel and Justice S. Thurairaja, on Monday (25).
Filed by Transparency International and several other parties, the petitions seek a SC order determining that the passage of the Bill in the Parliament and Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana’s move to endorse his certificate on the document was unlawful as the amendments recommended by the SC were excluded in the Legislation which seeks to regulate online content.
The petitions have been fixed for 24 July for the confirmation of facts.
The Online Safety Bill was passed in the Parliament on 24 January amidst objections from Opposition politicians and activists who allege that the new Law will muzzle free speech. It came into effect on 1 February after Speaker Abeywardana endorsed his certificate on the Bill.
The controversial Bill garnered not only the attention of local activists and organisations but also that of diplomats and large international organisations, claiming that the Bill had numerous problematic aspects.
Source: themorning