Individuals who are distressed by harmful online content can file complaints with the Online Safety Commission (OSC). Suva lawyer Jon Apted explained that if a post is causing or likely to cause serious emotional harm, a complaint can be made and the Commission may choose to act on it.
“If the commission accepts the complaint, it will first attempt to mediate between you and the poster,” Apted said. “The OSC will investigate, and if the person who posted the content is identified, it will mediate. If the poster or sharer does not apologize and provide appropriate compensation, the Commission can take the matter to court.”
Apted detailed that this approach is the civil route. If the OSC decides not to act, individuals can still go to court, but only if they have first approached the Commission.
The Online Safety Act allows for prosecution if electronic communications cause actual harm to another person or involve sharing an intimate visual recording without consent. Apted mentioned that in 2018, the OSC signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Fiji Police, enabling the police to conduct prosecutions on behalf of the Commission.
Serious penalties apply for causing harm through electronic communication. For individuals, the fine can be up to $20,000 or five years of imprisonment, or both. For corporations, the fine can reach $100,000, and for directors and managers, it can be up to $50,000 or seven years of imprisonment, or both.
In determining penalties, the authorities consider various factors such as the circumstances, the extremity of language and images, the reach of the content, its truthfulness, and whether it was malicious.