Concern over global tech firms
CONCERN was raised by the Minister for Defence, National Security and Foreign Affairs, Inia Seruiratu, on foreignowned global tech companies and how to keep checks on them.
Mr Seruiratu highlighted the issue at the opening of the two-day CPA Congress 2019 at Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa on Yanuca Island yesterday.
“In Fiji, we feel the presence of global big tech companies, some with net values 100 times the size of our GDP, who have hundreds of thousands of users in Fiji.
“These companies are rarely ever registered entities in our country, they don’t have any Fijian offices, they don’t have the capacity to translate our vernacular languages to sort through threats and hate speech,” he said.
He said regardless of this, these companies were an ever present force in people’s lives.
“They play significant roles in our economy and they have a serious impact on our national security,” he said.
Mr Seruiratu raised the question of how governments could ensure the rules and community guidelines these companies had on the books were enforced.
“Who places checks on the organisations who can bounce across borders unchecked and buy influence in the forms of advertisements and propaganda on our social media?
“How do we protect our citizens from online abuse or criminal networks from using these platforms to co-ordinate their activities,” he said.
Mr Seruiratu said Fiji and its people were embracing the digital age with an energy and enthusiasm that matched any of the world’s larger, more advanced economies.
“In many ways, digital tools can level the playing field in an economy.
“For businesses, digital strategies to build sales and apply a growing body of data gives guppies every chance to grow into prized game fish overnight.
“But these new levels of access and connectivity are simultaneously bringing a new range of challenges that the entire global community is still struggling to fully address,” he said.
Mr Seruiratu said new technologies had meant that our borders were no longer only physical in nature.
He said people’s data, one of the world’s most valuable commodities, could at times be only a click away from exploitation.
“We are ready to work with leaders in the digital space to help chart a path to a more inclusive digital future.”