Internet Pornography in Samoa, is it legal?

Written by Cherelle Jackson
Monday, 25 February 2008
Eight years ago if you typed down www.apia.com on the internet you would have been rediverted to a pornographic website, operated out of Germany. High school students across Samoa stumbled upon the website during geography and history research online. The images shocked the young minds of the students. Eight years later, the website is now a health therapy website, still operated out of Germany. So what is Samoas policy on internet pornography. Currently the distribution or exhibition of pornographic shows and materials is illegal in Samoa, however the specific part of the Crimes Ordinance makes no mention of internet pornography. With the increase in access to internet and virtual visual communication technology Newsline enquired about the legalities of the issue in Samoa. According to Supreme Court Judge Vui Clarence Nelson, the issue is a matter of enforcement rather than legality. “I think the issue is not illegality, I think everybody accepts that it’s a bad thing, it’s a question of enforcement. The problem is action though,” Judge Vui said. According to him, the first question that should be asked is: “Is internet pornography being manufactured here?” Judge Vui said: “Because the internet pornography that’s out there is being manufactured in other places, there’s no way you can catch those people, but it’s a question of, is it happening here, are people making pornographic material available on the internet here, and if they are, they should be subject to enforcement issues. As far as I know I have never heard of that happening here.” According to the Judge, Samoa does not have specific legislations covering internet pornography. Judge Vui read out the legislation: “It comes under Crimes against Morality and Indecency. Distribution or exhibition of indecent matter, sells, exposes or otherwise distributes to the public any indecent model or object, indecent show or performance etc. etc.” The Judge explained that with the legislation in mind, if internet pornography is displayed in public places then it is certainly an offence. “Now whether that pornographic is obtained off the internet, if it is, it is still a pornographic show off the internet or video cassette, if you show it in public, or it is public performance, that is definitely an offence,” he asserted. Asked if that means private viewing is legal, he said: “You should ask the Attorney General, because its actually got a curious provision here that says: No one shall be prosecuted for an offence in this section without the leave in writing of the Attorney General, who before giving any leave may make any enquiries as he sees fit.” According to him, the legislations in place is all geared around public viewing. “That’s not to say there may be some other legislation that captures private viewing of pornography, but I’m afraid I can’t think of it.” One of the issues encompassed in internet pornography in Samoa, is control and Judge Vui was asked if controls and prohibition of private viewing of pornography may infringe upon freedom of people to the media. “That’s a policy question, I shouldn’t comment on that as a Judge, because really that’s an issue that Parliament should decide and say, ‘were now going to make private viewing against the law.’” According to him the issue is like that of homosexuality, he said: “If you do it publicly it’s an indecent act, no question its an offence, but if you do it in the privacy of your own home, the law does not reach that far.” On a more regional scale, Advisor for Communications and Information of the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mr. Abel Caine says the matter of controlling internet pornography is still disputable. “In the developed western countries, there is absolutely no national level web filtering because of the notions of freedom of expression and freedom of information. In other countries, there is massive national level web filtering, and the country that comes to mind is China, who employ according to some reports, thousands of people to maintain a national level database of websites that are not permitted to be viewed by anybody in China,” Caine said. The benefits of such a move, from the Chinese perspective, according to Caine is that they are able to control objectionable websites. “For certain websites, that notion is correct, again depending on who you are the definition of objectionable and the benefit differ. To the west, that is a complete no, no, they wouldn’t even think of doing such a thing.” SamoaTel being the national level gateway says any attempts to control the access to pornographic sites have been a challenge the world over. According to Chief Executive Officer of SamoaTel, Mr. Mike Johnston, the jury is still out on the matter. “You can’t stop people looking where they want to look, Australia has tried it, adult filter and all that, it hasn’t worked,” he said. Currently there are not national filters on internet access, and the servers interviewed by Newsline have said they only filter at the request of their clients. Pictures courtesy of www.janesoceania.com and flickerbabe.com. This story appeared on the Sunday edition of Newsline Samoa Newspaper. Comments (4) Subscribe to this comment's feed ...* written by OBsERver, February 25, 2008 Thats why theres parents control the administrator or the teacher can block those sites so the students will not able to open it or any of them porno page will pop up on the screen...no anyone can stop pornograhy..not even the president of the United State or the Queen of England can stop...but they should prosecute someone who download nude pictures of children under 18. ... written by John Reid, February 26, 2008 I agreed 100 percent to the above comment but keep in mind, parents do not attend school where students access to computers. When the kids are in school, the parents will be out of the picture, than the teachers responsiblility is to watch them. We are in the modern time those things can happen anywhere no matter what! Parents should talked to there children, school is to learn not to watch nude pictures but probably 99 percent of the parents in Samoa do not know what there children are doing in school cause of poor communication,,,, ... written by lomi, February 28, 2008 Good luck. If you can control the computers you can control the pornography. Hmm written by polemic, February 28, 2008 Please do not confuse porn with our 'cultural' nudity. The photo of a censored, partial nude Samoan girl does not warrant a definition of pornography, nor should it be considered censored material. There is a difference - one is of literary worth and artistic/cultural value while the other is purely for sexual pleasure/stimulation. Yep. Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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