I have been lobbying for the Online Safety Commission to come under the Ministry of Information to streamline the services we provide to the public.
Minister for Information, Lynda Tabuya highlighted this during fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan while discussing the Commission and it’s challenges.
Tabuya says the Commission has the ability to investigate and prosecute, and if it comes under them, they can also protect the rights and information of the people — including their constitutional right to privacy.
When asked about the amount of work expected in the next few months in relation to this, Tabuya says the Commission needs more resources and more investigators within the department.
The Minister says there are concerns that the Commission lacks the authority to address issues effectively, and people have been asking the government what will be done about cyberbullying and unregulated content on social media.
She says the laws will need to be reviewed so that people have the confidence to file complaints with the police.
Tabuya says they need to give the Online Safety Commission the authority that when someone shares a video or photo without consent it has the power to immediately issue a notice to facebook and other platforms to take it down, or they will be fined or there will be a penalty.
The Minister says they can’t do that right now.
Tabuya says they must work together to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.
She also stressed that as a government, they need to listen to the media and allow media freedom because it is in the best interest of the people.
The Minister further says the entire digital space needs to be examined, as building trust with the public means ensuring they feel safe both offline and online.
Tabuya says this is something the government must address, and that its information or Public Relations machinery needs to respond to online bullying just as quickly as the perpetrators act.
She says police have said that women and girls often go to the station only wanting the harmful content to be taken down, but do not wish to file a report due to the shame and embarrassment associated with reporting.
The Minister says that is the gap they need to close, and police must act on it quickly.
