Case Explained:This article breaks down the legal background, charges, and implications of Case Explained: Outdated laws hindering justice for online crime victims – FBC News – Legal Perspective
Many victims of online crime in Fiji struggle to get proper legal recourse, as outdated laws make it difficult to convict offenders.
Online Safety Commissioner Filipe Batiwale warns that loopholes and vague provisions in the current legislation are allowing perpetrators to act without consequence.
“There are really a lot of technicalities with the wording in the offences that would restrict one from having a conviction being entered.”
Batiwale adds that courts currently lack clear guidance on what constitutes serious emotional distress, making it challenging to prosecute offenders consistently.
Serious emotional distress, the commissioner explained, is the psychological impact of harm, which can vary greatly depending on a person’s personality, life circumstances, and social context.
“It’s quite a subjective level of harm that one would need to experience for the offence to have been met.”
Reflecting Batiwale’s concerns, Limitless Marketing founder Asta Sonner noted that Fiji’s online safety laws were not drafted with today’s rapidly evolving technology in mind.
He emphasized the need for legislation to reflect the current digital reality, stressing that effective enforcement must be a key priority.
As online harm continues to evolve, experts say lawmakers must modernize Fiji’s Online Safety Act, as without reform, victims risk being left unprotected, and offenders may continue to walk free.