Newly appointed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed duties on 19th of November and appointing some secretaries to key government ministries and commissions was one of his initial tasks. Since these appointments number of posts are being shared about their qualifications, how they would fit into their newly assigned roles.
In this backdrop, a message is being spread excessively on WhatsApp that claimed, “From tomorrow onwards there are new communication regulations. All calls are recorded. All phone call recordings saved. WhatsApp is monitored. Twitter is monitored. Facebook is monitored. All social media and forums are monitored. Inform those who do not know. Your devices are connected to ministry systems…Writing or forwarding any msg on any political & religious debate is an offence now....arrest without warrant...” Detailed post is given below
Even though many users have not shared such posts on Facebook, some users have actively engaged with these posts. Along with the above claim, an image is also being shared extensively on WhatsApp, which would deem government endorsing the above message.
This image was a notice from TRC (Telecommunications & Regulatory Commission) of Sri Lanka. One Facebook user claimed that “ Oshada Senanayake has just been appointed as Director General of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.
This notice has gone out from TRC about social media. FB/ Social media Mud Slingers and slanderers A Must Read Notice.”
Since many users had commented that both of these were fake claims, we decided to have a close look at them.
Fact Check
It was clear with the first claim that not all of these messages were coming from any authentic source and all stated as (copied) means there is no indication where the message was originated, i.e. any government authority. Thus, we contacted the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology, who confirmed such a message was never sent by them and these messages are completely fake.
We could not find any government or main stream media in Sri Lanka reporting about such regulation to monitor and record all citizens’ phone calls and social media activity. Moreover, like mentioned in certain messages, “Cyber Crime Police” or any Police Division did not issue such warning of arrests either.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka is a democratic country that allows fundamental rights to its citizens like freedom of expression along with right to privacy. In certain legal circumstances and other situations pertaining to security, certain authorities can in fact invade the privacy of its citizens. But that does not mean they shall monitor and record all communication of its citizens.
There has been a lot of discussion in the past as well pertaining to Freedom of Expression and Right to Privacy.
Moreover, with regard to WhatsApp specifically, since they use end-to-end encryption as security feature, intrusion is not easy for anyone. This is how WhatsApp mentions about their security features “WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you're communicating with can read what is sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp..”
Also, we noticed that rumors such as the above viral message keep resurfacing on social media during sensitive situations like terror attacks, religious fights or political battles. These messages have been shared in various parts of the world, especially in India in 2017.
With regard to the second claim of the image being circulated in WhatsApp claiming to be a message from TRC (Telecommunication Regulatory Commission), it seems authentic; however appears to be from an old newspaper advertisement.
To confirm this did a Google search and were able to find out content related to the details in the image published in Daily Mirror online edition as below on 18th November 2017
We found the same image content published in a different format on 18th November Daily News Newspaper, page 18 as below.
Hence, it is clear that the message being circulated as a notice from TRC is in fact a correct message but it was published in November 2017 and it stated, “Speech is a fundamental right, but it should not be used in a way not to shatter the smooth functioning of the society”
Conclusion:
From our investigation, it is evident the claims about Communication Regulations from Government is totally fabricated and the image being circulated in WhatsApp claiming to be from TRC was in fact published in 2017 November.
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Title:Communication Regulations from Government & TRC Notice
Fact Check By: Sathyajith Subasinghe
Result: Partly False