Sri Lankan troops stationed in the East were lectured on social media last month, where they were advised not to post “statements propagating hatred” online.
According to a military website, troops were lectured on “maintaining their privacy in popular social networking websites including Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp”.
The lecture comes after a Sri Lankan army officer was remanded last month for allegedly spreading hate speech via Facebook. The arrest came in the aftermath of deadly anti-Muslim violence by Sinhala Buddhist mobs in Kandy, leading to a Sri Lanka's Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission ordering service providers to block mobile internet access and a ban on social media platforms.
The soldiers were told of “the adverse impacts of posting statements propagating hatred, sharing sensitive security information and uploading unauthorized photos”.
“Further, the session also covered the legal implications against military personnel who are bounded by both civil and military law when engaging in unacceptable conducts through social media,” the military website added.
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