SUVA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's Telecommunications Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said on Thursday that cyberspace information in Fiji may need to be monitored.
According to the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation, Khaiyum said as access to the internet over the years has become widely available, most criminal activities involving cyberspace have risen due to the unlimited access to technology.
Khaiyum said more than 550,000 smart phones are currently being used in Fiji with more operational SIM cards that exceeded the number of people in the country.
"There's now this tool, this access to not only get information but to be able to impart information. So the question is what type of information is being accessed and what type of information is being imparted? Do we need regulation in that space?" he asked.
He said that many of these people blanket themselves under the banner of freedom of expression, however, there were certain limitations in the constitution to the right of expression.
"These of course are matters of law that were not in existence 10-15 years ago. They are certainly new areas. This requires us to be able to constantly change the law,"he said.
He stressed that it is important for all relevant stakeholders to work collectively to combat these cyber issues and the Fijian government along with the police is onto the issue.
Fiji's Financial Intelligence Unit Director Razim Buksh has said this year the level of crime in Fiji is becoming more complex with the increasing in dyber crime related activities.
"We are looking at 1.5 million to 1.6 million Fijian dollars (about 0.7 million-0.77 million U.S. dollars ) lost through cyber crimes in local businesses.The criminals are considered as non-Fijians so they operate outside of Fiji's border," he said.
According to Buksh, in 2016, there were 58 intelligence dissemination reports given to the police which involve a suspected amount of 60 million Fijian dollars (about 28 million U.S. dollars).
