Porn View Up

The country is struggling with an alarming surge in pornography consumption, ranking among the world's top consumers.

Authorities warn the crisis is fuelling addiction, harming children, and devastating communities.

New data from the Telecommunications Authority of Fiji (TAF) has exposed the shocking scale of the problem.

Chief executive Prit Chand revealed that pornography accounted for 1.3 percent of the nation's total internet traffic in the last two quarters of 2024.

"The scale of the issue remains staggering," he said.

"On average, 1360 terabytes-or 15 terabytes per day-were consumed for pornography. The monetary value is approximately FJ$130,000 per quarter."

For context, this volume of data could stream HD-quality movies non-stop for 24 years or download 220 million e-books.

Pornographic traffic ranked between 11th and 25th among all internet categories in Fiji’s networks, Mr Chand added.

Tougher laws coming 

The Government has vowed swift action. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Communications Manoa Kamikamica, who co-chairs the Anti-Pornography Taskforce, admitted the trend was deeply concerning.

“There is enough data to show this is a significant issue,” he said.

“We are working on tougher laws with teeth to tackle this. That includes blocking some of these sites.

“I hope that in the not-too-distant future, we can shut them down, but we need the legislative framework for that. This will not be a talk fest—we will deliver on actions.”

Child exploitation alarms  Government 

Authorities are also alarmed by rising child sexual abuse material (CSAM) reports.

“In 2023, there were 3638 reports of CSAM from Fiji to a U.S.-based cyber tip line. The year before, it was over 6000 reports,” Mr Kamikamica said.

He confirmed discussions with Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua, who has assured that a special unit will be created to investigate these reports.

Porn ‘like a drug’ for children 

Director of Children Arieta Tagivetaua described pornography as “a drug in itself—addictive in nature” and urged immediate action.

“We want to ban pornography for children,” she said.

“We are collecting data and building a work plan. Families must report concerns.”

Exploitation for money 

Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection Sashi Kiran said reports of children being coerced into taking explicit images for money were increasing.

“People who are supposed to report these crimes aren’t doing so,” she said.

“They can face fines of up to $5000.”

She said police and authorities were stepping up efforts.

“The entire nation must understand that this is a crime. We will do everything to apprehend those responsible.”

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