Is the Online Safety Act an unnecessary piece of law?

DEFAMATION disputes have long been part of Sri Lanka’s legal landscape, well before the arrival of the Online Safety Act (OSA).

- By Sachini Ranasinghe

Former Justice Minister Ali Sabry

The recent settlement of President's Counsel Ali Sabry’s 2021 defamation suit underscores how fully the existing system already functioned. Although the allegations circulated online, the matter was resolved through established civil procedures, with no reliance on the OSA or any special law regulating online content.

The case involved accusations made by Former Nagoda Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Ananda Lanerolle, at a media briefing. He alleged that Sabry, then the Justice Minister, had improperly influenced a High Court judge by facilitating a letter in a pending case. The statement spread online and was available on YouTube. Yet the remedy Sabry sought and obtained was a purely civil one: an apology published in a national Sinhala-language newspaper and Rs. 1 million to be donated to the Apeksha Cancer Hospital.

This was not an isolated example. In May 2021, Sabry filed another civil defamation action against Ven. Madille Pannaloka Thera of the “Sinhale” organisation for allegedly defamatory remarks posted on YouTube, Facebook and other platforms. He sought an injunction and damages of Rs. 1.5 billion. The Colombo District Court granted interim relief, and the case was settled in early 2022 after the monk agreed not to repeat the allegations and acknowledged Sabry’s right to pursue further legal action if he did.