There are strong calls from concerned Fijians for the shutdown of the ‘ChatFiji Facebook’ forum. This call follows the death of social influencer Esala Seru Yalewamama, also known as ‘Ranadi Kei Viti’, which occurred yesterday morning.
‘ChatFiji,’ a local Facebook forum, is notorious for its unregulated content, frequently hosting defamatory and derogatory posts about individuals. The circumstances surrounding Esala’s death are allegedly connected to the ‘ChatFiji Facebook’ forum, and an investigation is underway, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police – Crime (ACP) Mesake Waqa.
“At this early stage, we cannot speculate on the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death because that will be part of the investigation process,” ACP Waqa stated.
Despite these calls, another social media influencer and lawyer, Jon Apted, believes shutting down the forum is not a permanent solution. “While that might address the toxic culture on one page, it is not a long-term solution since the bad behavior will simply transfer to a new or different page,” he said.
“The solution lies in changing behavior through education, effective handling of complaints, and, where possible, prosecution of serious offenders. We ourselves need to take responsibility for keeping online platforms safe and for creating a more respectful online culture. We should stop reacting to or sharing harmful posts and, where possible, call out and report more offensive posts.”
Apted noted that many people seem to believe their freedom of speech allows them to say whatever they like online. “Freedom of speech is not an absolute right. It allows you the fullest freedom to express your views about issues and political figures, but it does not include the freedom to say nasty personal things about others or cause anyone harm,” he said.
He is calling on the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission and the Online Safety Commission to educate the public on what freedom of speech entails. “In view of the increasing incidents of cyberbullying, the government needs to urgently look at increasing the resources available to the Commission,” he concluded.
The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement has strongly condemned repeated acts of psychological violence and character attacks. Nalini Singh, the executive director of the Fiji Women’s Rights Commission, urges relevant authorities to direct more effort to monitoring acts of violence online. “This is not the first time, and it is sad that despite Esala’s death, people continue to post hateful remarks online. When will we learn?” Singh questioned.
The movement calls for no impunity for online violence, especially against marginalized communities, and urges Fijians to exercise responsible online behavior by refraining from engaging in hate speech.
The Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission echoed similar sentiments. Chairperson Pravesh Sharma expressed concern that those managing public chat forums on social media are failing to moderate and control hate comments. “The culpability lies with the administrators of the public chat-forum Facebook pages and those commenting. They must face the full brunt of the law. Freedom of speech carries responsibility and has limitations,” Sharma stated.
The 2013 Constitution, under Section 17 (3)(b)(d), states that a law may limit, or authorize the limitation of free speech to protect the reputation, privacy, dignity, rights, or freedoms of other persons, including the right to be free from hate speech, whether directed against individuals or groups. It also prevents attacks on the dignity of individuals, groups of individuals, or respected offices or institutions in a manner likely to promote ill will between ethnic or religious groups, or the oppression of, or discrimination against, any person or group of persons.