Three line ministries will look into legal action which can be taken against individuals who distribute false information and defamatory postings via electronic and printed media.
Cabinet this week directed the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Media Ministry of Law and Order, to submit their recommendations regarding the legal actions which can be accomplished within the current legal frame against such individuals.
Fake News and hate speech became a key concern of the government, especially when it came to their impact in inflammation racial tensions in Digana recently. The government took steps to block social media sites to contain the situation and later promised to introduce regulation to monitor these sites and arrest such individuals.