People are being urged not to engage in online interactions or post content or comments that may cause serious emotional distress to another individual.
The Online Safety Commission highlighted this after noting that some people have expressed concerns regarding the ongoing issues surrounding the Miss Fiji Pageant.
While they acknowledge that members of the public may feel frustrated or disturbed by decisions made by officials or contestants, they stress it is important to remain mindful of how such concerns are expressed online.
The Commission says the Online Safety Act 2018, under which the Online Safety Commission is established, provides for two offences.
They say one such offence is outlined under Section 24, "Causing Harm by Posting Electronic Communication" and any person convicted under this section may face a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both.
The Commission says in determining whether an electronic communication has caused harm (serious emotional distress), the Court may consider various factors, including but not limited to the extremity of the language, images, or videos used, the extent of circulation of the electronic communication, and the context in which the electronic communication appeared.
They are asking people to pause and think before before posting a comment, sharing content, or circulating an audio or video recording, and before clicking the post, share, or send button.
