The proposed social media age restriction laws for Fiji will need to be tailored to the country’s unique cultural and social environment rather than copied directly from overseas models.
Online Safety Commissioner Filipe Batiwale says work is alreadyin progress to examine how social media age restrictions could be implemented in Fiji, with a dedicated task force studying approaches adopted in countries such as Australia.
However, Mr Batiwale stressed that Fiji’s circumstances differ significantly from those of larger nations and that any legislation would need to reflect local realities.
“Well, actually work has already started in terms of the task force that is tasked with exploring what we could adopt or learn from Australia and other countries that have implemented age restriction for social media,” he said on The Fiji Times online portal ‘The Lens@177’.
According to Mr Batiwale, the task force is assessing what age threshold may be appropriate for Fiji while considering the specific challenges facing children in Fiji.
Mr Batiwale noted that some of the issues driving social media restrictions overseas did not necessarily apply in Fiji because of differences in culture, society and access to technology.
“The issues in Australia, some of it does not really apply for Fiji because of the culture that we have, the society we live in, and the accessibility as well.
“And we have to be very practical as to how we implement this in terms of the resource allocation, what is practical and realistic.”
Mr Batiwale said the Government was currently working with consultants as part of the process of securing Cabinet approval for legislation development to begin.
The next steps will include policy development, legislative drafting and public consultation before a bill is introduced.
“At the moment in terms of the timeframe, we are working with consultants in terms of getting Cabinet approval for social media age deferment legislation work to begin. So something is being done and a law will be coming.”
