Fiji could face the same social and political risks seen in Myanmar if the harmful effects of social media are left unchecked.
Online Safety Commissioner Filipe Batiwale issued this warning on The Fiji Times online portal The Lens@177, saying online safety remains a serious issue in Fiji, particularly for children who can access harmful content online without adequate safeguards.
“It is a very serious issue. In terms of online safety, right now the harms that we are seeing, Fiji is not really a safe place for children because we really don’t have any laws to prevent what a child can see online,” he said.
Mr Batiwale said concerns extended beyond children’s exposure to inappropriate content and included the wider societal risks posed by social media.
“We have seen from Myanmar (Burma), with the political situation there, that stemmed from social media. That is something that Fiji could see as a risk, a potential risk.”
He said social media platforms had the potential to be used to incite political dissent if sufficient safeguards were not in place.
Mr Batiwale said many of the issues affecting children online began at home, with parents needing to take a more active role in supervising their children’s internet use.
“We see children out playing video games on the streets at night, around 11pm, watching porn.
“These are all issues that stem right down to the very family issue which is parents taking a proactive step to actually supervising, knowing what their children are doing online.”
Mr Batiwale called for stronger legal protections and greater resources for the Online Safety Commission to address emerging online harms.
He said Fiji had an opportunity through the ongoing law review process to strengthen both its legal protections and practical measures for online safety.
“But in terms of the safeguard measures that government can implement, we have the great opportunity right now with the law review commission to really up our game in terms of protections, the legal protections and also the practical solutions.”
