Independent State of Papua New Guinea

Ministerial Speech

By Hon. Timothy Masiu, MP

Minister for Information and Communications Technology

On the Occasion of Safe Internet Day 2022 Launch

8th February 2022

Salutations:

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all here today on the occasion of the official launching of Safer Internet Day 2022;

I would like to congratulate NICTA for spearheading the Safer Internet Day Campaign in collaboration with the PNG Safer Internet Committee (PNGSIC) and their collective effort as part of highlighting the importance of online safety for our citizens;

As the Internet becomes more accessible and affordable, issues pertaining to cyber safety, cyber security, and cybercrime have emerged and require immediate policy and operational intervention to ensure the safety of all citizens, their personal data and the data stored and collected by the Government;

To the stakeholders and public, awareness on cyber safety is a critical component of our digital transformation journey.

The Papua New Guinea Digital Transformation Policy 2020 identifies Cyber Safety and cyber resilience as one of its key pillars. It also directs work to be done to increase awareness of these critical issues;

The Digital Transformation Policy 2020 also recommends for data protection and privacy legislation to be put in place and for the creation of cyber standards and guidelines to be established and published;

A priority objective of the Department of Information & Communications Technology Corporate Plan 2020-2024 is, “To ensure an effective digital safety system to protect public interest against cyber space abuse”.

Through a Cabinet decision, the Department of Information and Communication Technology is currently operating the Social Media Management Desk which seeks to handle misinformation and through coordinating and standardization of Government social media accounts. In partnership with NICTA, the desk’s functions will be expanded to complement efforts in managing cyber safety issues into the future.

In commemoration of Safer Internet Day (SID) 2021 last year, we launched the Get Safe Website. Today, for Safer Internet Day 2022, I have the honor now of announcing on behalf of the PNG Safer Internet Committee (PNGSIC), the release of a “Parents Guide to being Cybersmart’ publication. The Guide is intended to provide advice to parents of children of all ages as part of engaging families on the importance of online safety.

Today, I want to remind all of us, especially parents, that online safety starts from the home. Online Safety is more about child upbringing and nurturing communication skills rather than technology itself.

As it is, our children are now having easy access to the unfiltered internet through mobile phones, tablets, and computers. Without proper guidance, our children are vulnerable to unsafe content and people.

I am calling now on our churches, social groupings, and sporting associations to also take responsibility in protecting our children from undesirable internet content.

I include all authorities within our communities because we are all responsible for the upbringing and education of our children.

I also call on the PNG Safer Internet Committee to do more awareness and diligently engage with the community on the safe use of internet particularly for our children.

Online safety of our communities, amongst other things, is an important priority for the Government and the Safer Internet Day campaign through the PNG Safer Internet Committee facilitated by NICTA provides a platform for key stakeholder cooperation in collectively achieving the SID 2022 theme “Together for a Better Internet”

With this, I officially declare the launch of Safer Internet Day 2022 in PNG.

Thank you and God Bless

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