The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has taken steps to introduce a national code of guidelines to ensure the protection of children in news reporting.
The guidelines have been introduced with the aim of reducing various forms of child abuse, according to the Authority.
A media briefing to raise awareness about the initiative was held at the Government Information Department. Speaking at the event, Attorney-at-Law Shanika Mallalgoda, Director of the National Child Protection Authority, stated that the Authority receives nearly 10,000 complaints related to child abuse annually.
She also highlighted that children face various risks due to online insecurity, teenage pregnancies and drug use.
Meanwhile, Charuka Damunupola, Senior Information Security Engineer at the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT), stated that there has been a significant increase in incidents involving online abuse of children.
Accordingly, 53 sensitive digital incidents involving children were reported in 2025, while the number had increased to 180 by November 2026, he revealed.
He further pointed out that unintentional actions by parents and other parties when sharing content involving children on social media could also pose risks to children’s safety.
