SLPP National Organiser and MP Namal Rajapaksa has called on the government to act immediately against networks on WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram that are reported to be distributing intimate images without consent and exploiting women, children and other vulnerable people.
In a post on X, Rajapaksa said the reported misuse of the platforms required urgent government intervention, the Daily Mirror reported. He also pointed to what he described as the growing use of politically motivated fake accounts and coordinated online networks to harass, manipulate and target individuals.
“Digital platforms cannot become a safe haven for criminals, abusers or those who weaponise them for political purposes,” he said.
Four demands
Rajapaksa set out specific steps rather than a general call for action: that victims be protected, that illegal content be removed, that digital evidence be preserved, and that perpetrators be prosecuted.
He said the problem should not be met with warnings, excuses or victim-blaming, and that the criminal networks themselves must be identified, investigated and dismantled.
“The Government already has the institutions and mechanisms to act. What is needed now is leadership, coordination and urgency,” he said.
His argument was that the state’s obligation is not to tell victims to be more careful but to ensure offenders cannot exploit them with impunity.
“Protecting the dignity, safety and rights of every woman and child must come before politics. Justice must find the perpetrators, not blame the victims,” he added.
Context
Rajapaksa did not name a specific case, network or platform investigation, and the report does not identify which reports of abuse prompted the statement. Nor does it record any response from the government, the Criminal Investigation Department or the Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which handles online offences.
The intervention comes while Rajapaksa is himself the subject of separate proceedings: he was summoned by the FCID this month and has been contesting allegations involving the Presidential Secretariat.
No verified Sri Lankan newsroom other than the Daily Mirror had filed its own report on the statement.
