Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says that the Online Safety Commission is important as it will protect the most vulnerable in society mainly our children.

Sayed-Khaiyum says that the commission provides an alternative form of a dispute resolution forum.

He says that people don’t want to drag themselves to the police station if they have to lodge a complaint on things posted about them, instead they would want to go to a forum where it could be resolved in a private environment.

“If you got material on your child, you don’t want to go running off to the police station and go to court about it necessarily and have it also aired out publicly, you want the matter to be gone as soon as possible and be able to get the right forum to be able to provide the private environment to get the matter resolved.”

Sayed-Khaiyum adds that a similar commission has been set up in both Australia and New Zealand.

“In fact in the Australian situation, the commission have a registers of online content providers and the Commissioner actually has the ability to the online content provider to remove certain material, the Commissioner has those powers.”

He says they needed the Online Safety Bill to be approved in this parliament session so that they are able to allocate funding for the commission, come the announcement of the national budget next month.

In the bill, a person who posts an electronic communication with the intention to cause harm to an individual, would cause harm to an ordinary reasonable individual in the position of the individual and causes harm to the individual commits an offence.

A person who commits the offence is liable upon conviction in the case of an individual, not exceeding $20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both, and in the case of a body corporate, not exceeding $100,000 and for a director, manager or of in charge for the time being to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or both.