Dr. Viranjana Herath, PhD—Chairperson and Legal Consultant of the Media Law Forum and Director of the South South Research Initiative—raised a critical question: Are we truly able to regulate new and social media in a meaningful way? He stressed the importance of learning from Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act and Nepal’s Directives for Managing the Use of Social Networks, 2023.
Speaking to MPhil and PhD scholars at the Central Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Dr. Herath noted that regulating online media has become necessary, as the harmful effects of online hate speech and disinformation are now well documented. However, he cautioned that a purely legal or state-centric approach is insufficient. Instead, he called for a holistic regulatory framework that combines state regulation, self-regulation, and co-regulation. He also emphasized that strengthening media literacy across all levels of society is critically important.
