Cabinet nod to amend Press Council Law to include new media

The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to amend the Sri Lankan Press Council Law No 5 of 1973 in order to incorporate electronic, print and new media. The provisions of that Act are restricted to the newspaper only.

“It has been identified that the Press Council should be structurally reformed and reorganized covering electronic, print and new media as a tribunal for journalists and media institutions and as a center that promotes media education,” a brief summary of Cabinet decisions, issued by the Government Information Department said. 

The Sri Lanka Press Council has been established by the Sri Lanka Press Council Law No 05 of 1973 with the objective of preventing any prejudice to the public through press coverage and to establish a cordial relationship between journalists and the public.

Meanwhile the Free Media Movement (FMM) expressed its grave concern over the tendency to indiscriminately block and impede the right to freedom of expression on social media.

"During the coronavirus pandemic, arrests were taken to arrest people who had expressed various views on social media regarding the pandemic, the media advocacy group said in a statement. It was recently stated that further arrests would be made in this regard," FMM said.