Govt vows to protect freedom of the Internet

The Sri Lankan government says that it has adopted several policy and institutional measures to combat internet crimes, whilst protecting the freedom of the Internet.

Recently, Sri Lanka was invited to join the Budapest Cyber Crime Convention of the Council of Europe. “We are strongly committed towards fast tracking our accession to this global convention,” Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith P Perera said.

The Deputy Minister underscored that Information and Communication Technology was the tool and enabler that would push the boundaries of socio-economic development in Sri Lanka and that e-Government led reforms would be a catalyst in bringing greater transparency, efficiency and accountability.

“Sri Lanka strongly believes that Information and Communication Technology is the tool and the enabler that will push the boundaries of socio-economic development in countries such as ours,” he said, speaking at the Global Conference on Cyberspace held from 16-17 April 2015 in the Netherlands.

“While harnessing the full potential of ICT for development, e-Government led reforms will be a catalyst in bringing greater transparency, efficiency and accountability,” Perera said.

He also briefed on various initiatives underway in the ICT sector that had brought Sri Lanka to the lead position in South Asia on the UN e-Government Readiness rank.

“The new Government’s 100 day programme has guaranteed access to free Wifi as a citizen’s right. This free Wifi programme was launched in several key public places across the country,” he said, adding that the Government expects to increase it to thousand hotspots in the coming months.

“Sri Lanka has had a long-standing tradition of supporting an open, interoperable and secure Internet. It remains an active participant of ICANN and supports the Internet Governance Forum,” the Deputy Minister said.