Senior IT professionals warn against the Online Safety Bill

Colombo (News 1st) - A group of senior IT professionals has warned that the Online Safety Bill may be used to cripple opposition election campaigns, suppress journalists reporting on corruption and even severely impact the IT industry. 

IT Professionals for the People (IT4P) has also launched an SMS "e-referendum", which allows Sri Lankans to use an SMS message to voice their concerns on the Online Safety Bill and other key policies.

IT Professionals for the People (IT4P) has warned that the Online Safety Bill may cripple election campaigns, suppress journalists and negatively impact the IT industry. 

They have therefore launched an SMS "e-referendum", allowing Sri Lankans to use an SMS message to voice their concerns on key policies such as the Online Safety Bill.

The group pointed out that Sri Lanka already has seven laws that place restrictions on free speech and therefore the Online Safety Bill is not necessary. 

Thus, citizens can participate in the SMS e-referendum by sending an SMS message to 0767 001 001 as OSB YES, if the bill should be passed in parliament, or as OSB NO, if the bill should not be.

The project is part of a broader Direct Democracy Initiative, which can one day lead to citizens being able to directly vote on government policies. This system is particularly useful when citizens believe that political representatives are no longer in alignment with their interests.