FB to operate in Sri Lanka under close monitoring

By Easwaran Rutnam and Ashanthi Warunasuriya

 

The ban on access to Facebook was lifted last week but the social media platform will be closely monitored in Sri Lanka in future.

Some profile and fan pages of extremist groups, which were seen as a threat to communal harmony, were also removed ahead of full access being granted for Facebook on Thursday.

Sources said that at a discussion held last week with officials from Facebook, the Government had wanted a system in place to closely monitor content being published from Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile Law and Order Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara told The Sunday Leader that a new Act is to be drafted to have control on hate speech being published on social media.