Apenisa Waqairadovu 
At least one of the major telecommunications companies in the country has revealed today it will not invest in spy technology.
Vodafone Fiji Head of e-Commerce and Digital Financial Services Shailendra Prasad revealed their stance during the discussion on cyber security at the DPP’s annual conference at the Shangri-La’s Resort on Yanuca Island.
A lawyer asked Prasad and other representatives from telecommunication companies if they can engage AI in their network to identify trafficking-related materials on the internet.
Vodafone Fiji Head of e-Commerce and Digital Financial Services Shailendra Prasad
The lawyer suggests that network operators consider using AI to tackle online trafficking, given how prevalent it is becoming.
According to Prasad, some countries are asking telecommunications companies to use spy technologies for surveillance purposes.
Vodafone Fiji Head of e-Commerce and Digital Financial Services Shailendra Prasad [File Photo]
He continues by saying Vodafone believes in the right to privacy.
“We come from a neutral perspective on freedom of information and access. One of the things we at Vodafone have never invested in is spy technologies, or call policing or monitoring, and part of the reason is we want the customers to have the confidence that no one is listening to their calls and nobody is looking at where they are going and what they are watching. I think it’s their right.”
Meanwhile, Telecom Fiji Limited also shared similar sentiments. TFL asserts that many network operators simply do not practice digging into users’ information.
