Concerns continue to be raised regarding a report where Fiji has been ranked in the top 10 countries in the world in terms of searches for the word “porn” according to figures compiled by Google Trends and the role of the Fiji Police Force in terms of monitoring and policing.
Police Chief of Intelligence, ACP Henry Brown said Section 377 of the Crimes Decree deals specifically with “Traffic of Obscene Publications”.
ACP Brown said this particular piece of legislation is “broad” in terms of criminalizing methods that contribute towards the production and distribution of obscene or inappropriate material.
Police said these methods include exhibiting, making and producing of obscene material such as pictures, posters, films, photographs or any other obscene objects.
ACP Brown stresses that this section focuses more on the production for the purposes of or by way of trade or public exhibition.
A person convicted under this section is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.
ACP Brown said pornography remains to be one of the sensitive issues for public debate given our community set up. However internet safety messages have been relayed by the Police to communities through community policing awareness programs.
He also said the nature of how the internet works is often difficult to police and monitor.
Police also said that in today’s society, children are spending a lot of time socializing online and this comes with risks.
ACP Brown requests parents and guardians to become aware of the potential risks associated with the internet and mobile phone activities.
