Sri Lanka’s first-ever prosecution under the Online Safety Act, No. 9 of 2024 concluded at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on April 23, with Chief Magistrate Asanga Bodaragama making permanent a conditional order against two of the respondents, the Daily FT reported.
The case was originally filed on 4 April 2024 by former Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Rathnayake, who told court through counsel that he had been victimised as a “targeted individual” under the Act.
The conditional orders were made permanent against the First Respondent, Gayathri Bimba — described in court as a personal assistant to Rathnayake — and the Second Respondent, Janaka Rajapaksha, a professor at a foreign university. Conditional orders against the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth accused were removed, bringing the proceedings to a close.
President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa appeared for the petitioner, with Vishwa De Livera Tennakoon and Shavinda Herath, on the instructions of Attorney-at-Law Mithun Diasz.
The Online Safety Act came into operation last year and provides a legal framework for addressing what the statute defines as prohibited online conduct, including false statements, harassment and content deemed threatening to public order. The legislation was controversial when enacted, with press freedom groups and opposition lawmakers warning it could be used to silence legitimate speech.
This first reported conclusion marks an early judicial test of the Act’s provisions. Sri Lanka is simultaneously restructuring its digital governance institutions, with ICTA wound down and replaced by new GovTech and Digital Economy agencies. Civil society organisations are likely to scrutinise the reasoning of the order, which sets the benchmark for how “targeted individual” claims are adjudicated and how conditional orders against online posts are issued, retained or vacated.
