Freedom of expression does not include the licence to cause harm to anyone else, says prominent Suva lawyer Jon Apted, who himself has a large public following on social media.
He said the trend on social media had become “more toxic” in recent months.
Mr Apted said traditionally, people had not enjoyed freedom of speech, and social media, through platforms such as Facebook, seemed to give people the freedom to say what they wanted for the first time in their lives.
“But they don’t realise that by law, freedom of speech is not absolute. Freedom of speech does not include freedom to harm others,” Mr Apted said.
“Most of the people who breach the law on those Chat Fiji sites and there’s more than one, are not aware that they’re breaking the law.
“They genuinely believe that they’re entitled to act that way. That needs to start by letting people know that no, it’s not your right to say bad things that can hurt other people.”
He said while members of the public were entitled to say what they believed about issues, it did not extend to using a platform to say things or share images or recordings that hurt anybody.
“The law doesn’t allow you to shame people and belittle them like nasty village gossip. That’s not what the freedom of speech allows. The law will protect people against abuse of freedom of speech.”
Yesterday, there was heavy speculation on social media that the tragic death of 37-year-old local social media influencer, Esala Seru, was because of alleged cyberbullying.
Police confirmed his death was an alleged suicide, however, circumstances that led to his untimely passing was yet to be determined.
Assistant Police Commissioner – Crime Mesake Waqa said that they could not speculate on the circumstances surrounding Mr Seru’s death, as that would be part of the ongoing investigation process.
Questions sent to the Online Safety Commission about Mr Seru’s passing remained unanswered.
