Ashwini Natesan

Tech, Media and Communications Law- Data, privacy, RTI etc. Lecturer. Researcher. Legal Consultant. ILPF Fellow

[Ashwini Natesan @Ashwini_Techlaw]

What does #DataProtection got to do with #journalism?
#srilanka #privacytech
I hope my paper will help raise pertinent concerns
https://t.co/qs7hnfvXj2

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

இலங்கை தனது செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவு (AI) இலக்குகளை விரைவுபடுத்தி வரும் நிலையில், ஒரு முக்கியமான கேள்வி இந்த உரையாடலின் மையத்தில் உள்ளது. இந்த முறைமைக்கு எந்தத் தரவுகள் ஆற்றல் அளிக்கும், மேலும் அவை எவ்வாறு நிர்வகிக்கப்படும்?

வீரகேசரி (@virakesari_lk )நாளிதழில் சமீபத்தில் வெளியான ஒரு கட்டுரையில், LIRNEasia நிறுவனத்தின் ஆய்வாளர் அஸ்வினி நடேசன் (@Ashwini_Techlaw), அரசாங்கத்தின் வலுவான தரவு ஆளுகையில் செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவு வளர்ச்சியை நிலைநிறுத்துவதன் முக்கியத்துவத்தைப் பற்றி விவாதித்தார். மேம்பட்ட நெறிமுறைகள் மற்றும் செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவுப் பயன்பாடுகளுக்குக் கவனத்தை செலுத்துவதற்கு முன்பு, தரவுகள் எவ்வாறு சேகரிக்கப்படுகின்றன, பகிரப்படுகின்றன, கட்டமைக்கப்படுகின்றன மற்றும் பாதுகாக்கப்படுகின்றன என்பதில் கவனம் செலுத்தி, இலங்கை சீரான மற்றும் நம்பகமான தரவு ஆளுகை அடித்தளத்தை உருவாக்க வேண்டும் என்று அவர் குறிப்பிடுகிறார்.

இலங்கையில் கொள்கைக் கட்டமைப்புகளுக்குப் பற்றாக்குறை இல்லை என்று அவர் வலியுறுத்துகிறார். மாறாக, தற்போதுள்ள தரவு ஆளுகைக் கொள்கைகள் மற்றும் நடைமுறைகளை மறுஆய்வு செய்து வலுப்படுத்துவதே தேவைப்படுகிறது. தரவு ஆளுகைக்கான ஒரு சீரான தேசிய அணுகுமுறை, செயற்கை நுண்ணறிவு வளர்ச்சிக்கு ஆதரவளிப்பது மட்டுமல்லாமல், பொதுமக்களின் நம்பிக்கையையும் வலுப்படுத்தும் என்று அவர் அடிக்கோடிட்டுக் காட்டுகிறார்.

முழு கட்டுரையையும் வீரகேசரி (Virakesari) யில்: https://t.co/b7od4yPwCN

#DataGovernance #AIGovernance #AIPolicy #NationalAIStrategy #LIRNEasia

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, තම කෘත්‍රිම බුද්ධි (AI) අභිලාෂයන් ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීම සඳහා ඇති උනන්දුව වේගවත් කරන විට, මෙම සංවාදයේ කේන්ද්‍රය වශයෙන් වැදගත් ප්‍රශ්නයක් මතුවෙයි. එනම්, මෙම පද්ධති ක්‍රියාත්මක වන්නේ කුමන දත්ත මතද සහ එම දත්ත පාලනය කරන්නේ කෙසේද යන්නයි.

@LankadeepaNews හි ප්‍රකාශයට පත් කරන ලද ලිපියක, ලර්න්ඒෂියා පර්යේෂණ සාමාජිකා (Research Fellow) අශ්විනි නටේසන් (@Ashwini_Techlaw) AI සංවර්ධනයේ පදනම ලෙස ශක්තිමත් දත්ත පාලනයක වැදගත්කම පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කරයි. සංකීර්ණ ඇල්ගොරිතම සහ AI යෙදුම් වෙත අවධානය යොමු කිරීමට පෙර, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව මුලින්ම දත්ත රැස් කිරීම, හුවමාරු කිරීම, ව්‍යුහගත කිරීම සහ ආරක්ෂා කිරීම සඳහා සුසංයෝගී හා විශ්වාසදායක දත්ත පාලන පදනමක් ගොඩනැගීම කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කළ යුතු බව ඇය අවධාරණය කරයි.

මේ සඳහා නව ප්‍රතිපත්ති රාමු නිර්මාණය කිරීමට වඩා, පවතින දත්ත පාලන ප්‍රතිපත්ති සහ ක්‍රියා පටිපාටි සමාලෝචනය කර ශක්තිමත් කිරීම වැදගත් බවද ඇය පෙන්වා දෙයි. දත්ත පාලනය සඳහා සුසංයෝගී ජාතික ප්‍රවේශයක් මගින් AI සංවර්ධනයට සහාය වීම පමණක් නොව, මහජන විශ්වාසයද ශක්තිමත් කළ හැකි බව ඇය අවධාරණය කරයි.

සම්පුර්ණ ලිපිය කියවන්න: https://t.co/BKuPZzRNyY

#DataGovernance #AIGovernance #AIPolicy #NationalAIStrategy #LIRNEasia

[Factum @factumlk]

The Panel after the screening featured Dr. Priyanka Bhalla (Meta), Ashwini Natesan (Legal Consultant), Saritha Irugalbandara (Researcher/Digital Rights Activist), and Reyaan Nadesarajah (Attorney-at-Law/Transgender Rights Activist), moderated by Omar Rajarathnam

[Factum @factumlk]

Factum officially launched SafeWebLK — a new platform dedicated to helping people in Sri Lanka better understand, navigate, and respond to online harm.

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

As Sri Lanka accelerates its AI ambitions, an important question remains at the center of the conversation. What data will power these systems, and how will it be governed?

In a recent article published in the @FT_SriLanka, LIRNEasia Research Fellow @Ashwini_Techlaw discusses the importance of grounding AI development in strong data governance. She highlights that before shifting focus to advanced algorithms and AI applications, Sri Lanka must first build a coherent and trustworthy data governance foundation by addressing how data is collected, shared, structured, and protected.

She emphasizes that Sri Lanka does not lack policy frameworks. Rather, what is needed is a review and strengthening of existing data governance policies and procedures. She underscores that a coherent national approach to data governance will not only support AI development but also strengthen public trust.

Read the full article in the Daily FT: https://t.co/kUQnmmke2d

#DataGovernance #AIGovernance #AIPolicy #NationalAIStrategy #LIRNEasia

[Asela Waidyalankara @aselawaid]

It was a privilege to attend the official launch of SAFEWebLK today. As our digital landscape evolves, initiatives like this focused on navigating online harm and building safer spaces, are more critical than ever. @factumlk

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

LIRNEasia Research Fellow Ashwini Natesan participated in the panel discussion “Case for and Against the Online Safety Act,” organized by @factumlk during the launch of its policy report “Online Safety’s Impact on Human Rights and Digital Governance” on 26 February.

The discussion also featured Prihesh Ratnayake (Research Specialist, Factum) and Benislos Thushan (Attorney-at-law and Development Practitioner), and was moderated by Omar Rajaratnam (Executive Director, Factum). The panel explored key debates around the Online Safety Act and its implications for human rights, freedom of expression, and digital governance in Sri Lanka.

@Ashwini_Techlaw | @benislos | @Prihesh17 | #OnlineSafety #FreedomOfExpression #SriLanka #PolicyDiscussion #LIRNEasia #TechPolicy #InternetRights

[Canada in Sri Lanka and Maldives @CanHCSriLanka]

Natural disasters lead to humanitarian crises and can highlight the urgent need to #EndGBV. Recently the High Commission hosted a successful event with multiple partners to discuss both the issues and solutions we can work together on. @UNFPASriLanka @UNDPSriLanka

[Ashwini Natesan @Ashwini_Techlaw]

My article on #rti #lk #lka

[Groundviews @groundviews]

Strengthening the Right to Information by Ashwini Natesan

Read the full article here:
https://t.co/Nehj6QVt62 #SriLanka #RTI #Governance

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

LIRNEasia Research Fellow @Ashwini_Techlaw participated as a panelist at #MediaForward2025, held from 24–26 November 2025 in Colombo. She joined the session titled “Strengthening Coordination and Shared Accountability in Digital Spaces,” where she discussed the #OnlineSafetyAct (#OSA), #PlatformAccountability, and the impact of online harms on women and children.

The event was organised by @UNDPSriLanka in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Broadcasters’ Guild, @generation_sl, @factumlk, @VeriteResearch, @medialawforumlk, @FMMsrilanka, and @djasrilanka.

Read the full blog here: https://t.co/KwXs4jc9bB

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

Ashwini Natesan, Country Researcher for Sri Lanka, kicks off the Sri Lanka Data Governance Research findings, highlighting three key questions: How does governance handle friction? How were laws developed and consulted? And how are capacity challenges addressed: via simplified laws or partial implementation? @Ashwini_Techlaw

#UntanglingDataGovernance #SriLankasWayForward #DataForDemocracy #DataGovernanceLK #DigitalSriLanka #SriLankaDataForum #D4DAsia #DigitalGovernance #OpenData #PolicyInnovation #SouthAsia

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

“It’s not just about having a public consultation. The deliberations post public consultation need to be published,” stressed @Ashwini_Techlaw, underlining the importance of transparency in lawmaking.

#UntanglingDataGovernance #SriLankasWayForward #DataForDemocracy #DataGovernanceLK #Transparency #OpenGovernance #PolicyInnovation #DigitalGovernance #DigitalSriLanka #SriLankaDataForum #D4DAsia

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

A big thank you to our panelists: @pranesh, Co-Principal Investigator & Country Researcher for India; @Ashwini_Techlaw, Country Researcher for Sri Lanka; @AslamhayatAslam, Country Researcher for Pakistan; Semanta Dahal, Country Researcher for Nepal; and Ryan Sakti, Country Researcher for Indonesia, for an insightful discussion on shaping stronger, more inclusive data governance across South and Southeast Asia.

#UntanglingDataGovernance #DataForDemocracy #SriLankasWayForward #DataGovernanceLK #DigitalSriLanka #SriLankaDataForum #D4DAsia #DigitalGovernance #OpenData #PolicyInnovation #DataEcosystem @helanigalpaya @the3rdbranch

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 – 𝗦𝗿𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮’𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱

Join us for a forum exploring how Sri Lanka’s data governance ecosystem can better support inclusive, transparent, and democratic development.

Date: Thursday, 13 November 2025
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Saffira Ballroom, Amari Colombo

Attendance is only through pre-registration. Space is limited, so secure your place early by completing the registration form: https://t.co/PVBV9e68Ph

#datagovernance #srilanka #lirneasia #privacy #datapolicy #dataprivacy #policyforum #dataprotection

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Experts from government, academia & private sector sat together at the Forum on Data Governance held in Manila, Philippines 🇵🇭 on September 12, organized by @LIRNEasia in partnership with @DisiniLaw & Digital Freedom Network, supported by @IDRC_CRDI, to discuss how research can move into action and policy impact.

@helanigalpaya | @jjdisini | @IDRCinAsia | @RohmanKhol16439 | @pranesh | @Ashwini_Techlaw | @emersonbanez

#datagovernance #digitalrights #privacy #humanrights #philippines #southeastasia #southasia #policy #inclusivedevelopment #lirneasia

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

@gracemirandilla @Ashwini_Techlaw @RohmanKhol16439 @pranesh @jjdisini Read more about the event highlights and access the presentations here:
https://t.co/kCsErmGDpl

#datagovernance #digitalrights #privacy #humanrights #philippines #southeastasia #southasia #policy #inclusivedevelopment #lirneasia

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

Following these, two panel discussions addressed data governance challenges, gaps, and opportunities, with one looking at the regional level and another focused specifically on the Philippines’ national context. The forum concluded with a press conference emphasizing the key findings and practical implications for inclusive and democratic data governance in the Philippines and the wider region.

#datagovernance #digitalrights #privacy #humanrights #philippines #southeastasia #southasia #policy #inclusivedevelopment #lirneasia

[LIRNEasia @LIRNEasia]

The Community of Practice on Hate Speech and Disinformation has submitted comments on the #OSA. @LIRNEasia Research Fellow @Ashwini_Techlaw and Saranee Gunathilaka of @generation_sl led the drafting on behalf of the CoP. #OnlineSafetyActLK #lka

[Ashwini Natesan @Ashwini_Techlaw]

It was interesting to be a part of this discussion @SLPI

[Newsfirst.lk Sri Lanka @NewsfirstSL]

Will Sri Lanka’s New Law Target Your Messages? Experts Say OSA Protects State, Not Citizens

Watch: https://t.co/yHHN6u2atz

#newsfirst #news #srilanka #lanka #SL #newsupdate #BRT #WEF #slpi #pressinstitue #OSA #onlinesafetyact

[SLPI @SLPI]

Join Us for an Important Panel Discussion on the Online Safety Act (OSA)!

📌 Register now via QR code on the flyer or using this link: https://t.co/RhVEhqcgcL

#SLPI #OSA #PanelDiscussion #MediaFreedom #DigitalRights #OnlineSafety