Net cafes main target to restrict web acess

Internet cafes and school computer labs will be the main targets in

a government initiative to restrict website access and protect

minors from adult materials published on the internet.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRC)

has already conveyed a directive from President Mahinda Rajapaksa

to all internet service providers (ISPs) in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, a

filtering process will be implemented with immediate effect, once

the technical aspects have been sorted out.

TRC director general Priyantha Kariyapperuma said  that it was not

the government’s intention to control internet usage in any way,

but to act in a responsible manner on matters relating to public

morals, especially where these involved children or minors.

“There is no possible way in which we can completely halt the

viewing of these [adult] sites, and neither is it our intention to

completely restrict people from doing so,” he said. “Still, as it is a

big moral problem in the country, we need to show people that we

do not approve of these activities.”

Mr. Kariyapperuma said the decision was taken following complaints

from parents and teachers about the ease with which children and

students were able to access adult websites. He said developed

countries such as Singapore had already implemented laws to

restrict access to adult websites.

“We are targeting internet cafes and schools so that children

cannot access such sites from these places,” he said. “Parents find

it difficult to monitor their children even at home, while some have

even disconnected their lines because of such problems,” he said.

Mr. Kariyapperuma said internet cafes were a cause for growing

concern among parents because these venues gave youngsters of

any age unsupervised access to the internet.

Meanwhile, individual users who wished to enjoy unlimited access

to the internet could do so with the purchase of a special

password from their ISPs. Meanwhile, individual users say that even

without the password they can access adult websites, pointing out

that it was not possible for enforcers to completely block out

pornographic websites. Nevertheless, according to Mr.

Kariyapperuma, the government will be taking all possible measures

to prevent easy access to adult materials.