Solomon Islands: Legislation being considered to act against illicit material available on line.
It has been announced in the Solomon Islands that government is set to strengthen and further empower measures to act against illicit materials being viewed on line by introducing a Cinematography Bill this year.
The measure was mentioned by His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir David Vunaki, GCMG, during his ‘Speech from the Throne’ in the national parliament on Monday.
His Excellency said on that occasion, “With the prevailing and proliferation use of the internet we have seen an influx of visual and audio material coming into the country,” he said.
He also urged that young people should be protected from illicit material.
The proposed introduction of the Bill has been hastened by the fact that there will be better access to fast internet services when the under-sea cable connections become fully operational in the Solomon Islands.
Some local critics have attributed the increasing rise in sexual related offences and crimes against women and girls due to the already easy access to explicit materials and images that are easily downloaded and commonly shared amongst people.
It is true to say that over the years since my last appointment in the Solomon Islands, I have often been alarmed by what I have read of alleged sexually linked crimes and the number of such incidences seems to be growing year on year.
Already there are a wide range of illegal activities which occur on the Internet. Illegal activity is divided into two different types:
Criminally illegal activity which is investigated and prosecuted by Law Enforcement Agencies, and
Civil illegal activity which can be prosecuted by a wide range of civilian bodies.
It is to be hoped that will the passing of legislation to deal with illicit activity on the internet the authorities will be better able to take action against all forms of illegal activities that might arise.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
