Media Forward 2025 was held from 24–26 November 2025 in Colombo, organised by UNDP Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Broadcasters’ Guild, Hashtag Generation, Factum, Verité Media and Politics, the Media Law Forum, the Free Media Movement, and the Sri Lanka Digital Journalists’ Association.
LIRNEasia Research Fellow Ashwini Natesan joined as a panelist for the first session of the event, titled ‘Strengthening Coordination and Shared Accountability in Digital Spaces’. The other panelists were Senura Abeywardena (Head of Public Policy, Central Asia, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka at Meta), Ranga Kalansooriya, PhD (Asia Regional Advisor, International Media Support), Rajitha Mahanama (Sub Inspector, Computer Crime Investigation Division), and Saranee Gunathilaka, PhD (Director – Strategy and Operations, Hashtag Generation). The discussion was moderated by Prihesh Ratnayake (Research Specialist, Factum).
Ashwini Natesan at the panel on Strengthening Coordination and Shared Accountability in Digital Spaces
Ashwini spoke on platform accountability, the Online Safety Act (OSA), and the impact of online harms on women and children. She highlighted that, on paper, the OSA includes provisions to hold platforms accountable. However, effective implementation requires community buy-in, which the Act currently lacks. She further noted that the Act has faced criticism from legal commentators, civil society, and other stakeholders, and that more than 50 petitions were filed before the Supreme Court challenging it. She emphasized that the OSA in its current form will not be effective in holding platforms accountable.
This session was part of the three-day programme that brought together journalists, media practitioners, and experts for capacity development and dialogue on AI and journalism, digital safety, ethical reporting, content creation, and the evolving media landscape.
Comments are closed.