Transcript
Facebook made headlines across the Pacific in March when Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi threatened to shut down the platform. The same happened in May when Papua New Guinea communication minister Sam Basil pledged to ban Facebook for a month to crackdown on fake users. Both leaders later reneged but the point was clear - what happens on Facebook is a growing concern for governments across the Pacific. In January, Nauru President Baron Waqa lifted a nearly three-year ban on Facebook his government had imposed to stop criminals and sexual perverts.
"In the last four years, the different states and state powers have really recognised how social media and alternative spaces for citizen engagement and citizen expression has been a threat to their power."
Jope Tarai is part of a social media research team based at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. He says social media is threatening the power of regional leaders, but local regulation is hard to enforce and sparks public outcry.
"Facebook should have a stronger part to play in terms of guidelines. I suppose because we're a small part of the world, and they see us as a small part of the world and our Facebook population not [as big] compared to bigger parts of the world."
Prime Minister Tuilaepa is clearly frustrated at a lack of action from Facebook and his inability to regulate online content. Several blogs which publish on the platform frequently level serious allegations at Tuilaepa, his government and family. Last week he said he had instructed the Attorney General's office to begin the extradition process for blogger Malele Paulo, also known as King Faipopo, who lives in Australia. One of the blogs which has targeted Tuilaepa is also behind abuse towards Samoan author Lani Wendt Young. Facebook last month said it was investigating comments made towards Ms Wendt-Young on its platform. Ms Wendt-Young says Facebook rebuked her initial attempts to take down abusive content in Samoan, and only acted when she provided English translations. But even then, the result was less than satisfactory.
"And I noticed some key people got put into Facebook jail for 24-48 hours or something"
Ms Wendt-Young says even if posts are written in English with an apparent Samoan translation below - a common site in online Pacific communities - it's often not what it seems.
"The abusers are actually quite crafty. They will write really, really extra disgusting things in Samoan because they know that obviously people at Facebook aren't really good at translating. So, that's I think a reason why they're getting away with some of the things they do."
Facebook won't disclose the number of staff per language or dialect but a spokesperson says it has the capacity to review content in over 50 languages, including Samoan. In countries like Myanmar and Sri Lanka, where Facebook content has fuelled ethnic violence, the company has been accused of acting too slowly to remove hate speech and lacking native speakers who can review content. In a damning UN-mandated report on human rights abuses in Myanmar released Monday, investigators said Facebook was "a useful instrument for those seeking to spread hate". While there is no evidence of links between Facebook and violence in the Pacific, analysts say online abuse is on the rise in the ethnically diverse region. Mr Tarai, the Fijian researcher, says online abuse in Pacific Island languages usually happens in large Facebook groups, where the line between banter and attacks is hard to define even for fluent speakers.
"I think most of the concern is around how, at least in Fiji's case, how particular discussions tend to facilitate a significant level of attack on certain individuals or harm on certain individuals."
Ms Wendt-Young's case has alarmed human rights and media freedom groups in the region. On Tuesday the Pacific Islands News Association's President Kora Nou issued a statement saying he was concerned that she was targeted as a journalist. Mr Nou says he hopes service providers can put in place controls to prevent online abuse from happening.
