The Government has ordered strict legal action against Facebook accounts that share photographs of women and girls without their consent, accompanied by sexualised and defamatory comments.
The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs has instructed the Police to take legal action against those operating and participating in such Facebook accounts.
The Ministry has also requested the National Child Protection Authority to take action using its legal powers.
More than 14,000 Facebook accounts have reportedly been sharing photographs of women with sexually suggestive comments. It has also been reported that some individuals are selling these photographs for money and falsely claiming that the women depicted are inviting sexual relations.
Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs Tharangani Wickramasinghe said Police investigations into the relevant Facebook accounts are currently underway.
She also said a letter had been sent to the Attorney General’s Department seeking further legal advice on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Computer Emergency Response Team has stated that such content has been removed from social media platforms including TikTok and Telegram, while efforts to remove the relevant Facebook accounts are continuing.
Engineer Charuka Damunupola of the Computer Emergency Response Team said Meta is cooperating with the authorities by providing information on such fake accounts to the Police.
He also pointed out that offenders can face legal action and punishment under the Penal Code.
The Ministry’s Child and Women Abuse Investigation Unit and the Computer Crime Investigation Division are jointly conducting further investigations into the matter.
