Online Safety Bill echoes UK, Australia’s internet regulations to combat cybercrime

• Supreme Court says Bill can be passed with simple majority subject to amendments   

By Yohan Perera   
Determining that the Online Safety Bill is not inconsistent with the Constitution and can be passed by a simple majority in the House subject to amendments, the Supreme Court has observed that increasingly countries are trying to regulate internet content through “cybercrime legislation”.   

The Supreme Court determination communicated to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena says it covers a wide range of criminal offences from terrorist activities and espionage conducted with the help of the internet and illegal hacking into computer systems, to running botnets for the purpose of spreading spam emails and credit card fraud, phishing, theft and manipulation of data, and cyber-stalking.   
The determination says regulation of the internet has become an urgent need of the world.    “Therefore, several countries such as the United States of America, France, Germany, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and China have enacted legislation to regulate the internet. Further, the House of Commons and the House of Lords in the United Kingdom has approved the Online Safety Bill and is awaiting the Royal Assent,” it says.   In the UK, the Bill takes a zero-tolerance approach to protecting children and makes sure social media platforms are held responsible for the content they host.   

If they do not act rapidly to prevent and remove illegal content and stop children seeing material that is harmful to them, such as bullying, they will face significant fines that could reach billions of pounds. In some cases, their upper management may even face prison sentences. Further, social media platforms will be legally responsible for the content they host.   
In Australia, online regulation has focused on darker corners of the internet, but with a rapidly evolving digital ecosphere, the Australian eSafety Commissioner has been increasing its regulatory presence, to which global tech companies have had to adapt. In addition to social media platforms and messaging service providers, the Online Safety Act applies to: all websites, search engines, app distributors, and internet carriage services, anybody who manufactures, supplies or installs equipment used by end-users (including manufacturers of wi-fi routers, smart TVs, gaming consoles, discussion forums and consumer review networks).   It is observed that the recent events that are taking place in Sri Lanka show that there is an abuse of the internet and it has not only affected children but also adults.    “Further, blackmailing professionals, having live sex shows targeting school children, scandalizing people, financial app scams, interference with the administration of justice, particularly when important matters of public discourse are being taken up for hearing, are a few to mention,” the determination says.