Sri Lankan government to amend existing laws to charge a registration fee for websites

The Sri Lankan government has decided to charge a registration fee for websites by amending the Press Council Act. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved that the existing laws be amended to charge a registration fee of Rs.100,000 and annual renewal fee of Rs.50,000 for websites. Cabinet Spokesperson and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the media today
that the existing laws would be amended shortly in order to accommodate the registration fees for websites. He added that this law would be applicable to websites that have already registered with the Media Ministry with effect from January 1, 2012. Rambukwella observed that amending the law to include websites was in order to maintain a certain amount of dignity and decorum in the web sphere for the benefit of all. He denied that the laws were not being introduced with a political interest.