The Fiji Government is urging parents and guardians to be more cautious about sharing images and videos of their children online, amid growing concerns about the rise in online pornography.
Speaking in Parliament Minister for Trade and Communications and Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica highlighted the dangers of predators misusing innocent images, saying, “It is critical to avoid uploading pictures or videos of our children when they are not appropriately clothed. Once these images and videos are online, they can be exploited by perpetrators in unimaginable and harmful ways.”
This warning comes after alarming data revealed a significant increase in pornography consumption in Fiji. Kamikamica shared that one network provider recorded 626 terabytes of pornographic content being downloaded over three months, stating that this is equivalent to “100 million books, or imagine having a collection of movies that would take over 150 years to watch non-stop.”
In another network, pornography made up 92 terabytes of data in a single month, which accounted for 1.6% of total data usage. He noted that this pointed to a troubling trend where “adult content and pornography have carved out a significant presence, consuming a substantial portion of network traffic.”
Kamikamica, along with the Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya, is leading a national task force aimed at tackling the issue. The task force includes government ministries, NGOs, telecommunication companies, and other stakeholders. Their focus is on protecting children from online sexual exploitation and abuse and ensuring laws are updated to deal with these risks.
The government has also taken steps internationally, having recently joined the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime to address child pornography and other cyber offences. Fiji is also working to join the WeProtect Global Alliance, a global group focused on tackling online child sexual abuse.
“We are very serious in what we are doing, to the extent that we are looking at even banning some sites if necessary,” Kamikamica said.
He called for a collective effort to protect children from online dangers, urging, “Let’s work together to safeguard our children in both the physical and digital worlds.”
As the task force continues its work, more updates are expected, with working groups set to present their findings on how best to tackle this issue.
