With the September 21 presidential election drawing near, social media has emerged as a major arena for criticism and campaign activities. The Sri Lanka Police Headquarters has sent updated instructions to all police stations regarding how to handle complaints about the election that surface on social media.
Police stations around the nation have received a special circular on how to handle illicit election propaganda on internet platforms. In order to delete offensive posts and prosecute criminals, these rules place a strong emphasis on working in tandem with the Divisional Police Technology Divisions and the Computer Crimes Investigations Division (CID).
Speaking on the subject, a senior police officer affirmed that the directions give precise guidelines for stopping the dissemination of unapproved election-related content. The officer also stated that anyone who disobeys these new regulations will face legal repercussions.
The Director of the IT Division, the Director of the Computer Crimes Investigation Division, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Police Legal Division, and the Digital Forensics Unit of the CID are among the important individuals involved in the operations.
Despite the fact that police are actively monitoring online election activity, the officer made clear that, because of workload restrictions, the majority of actions are based on complaints that are received. There are now several investigations regarding threats and comments made against presidential candidates on social media.
The investigations encounter difficulties since existing laws, such as the planned Online Safety Bill, are dormant. This is especially true when addressing foreign-based sites. To combat infractions, the police are currently using the Computer Crimes Act and other pertinent statutes.