Oro Governor Garry Juffa during question time in parliament this week raised concerns surrounding social media usage by content creators and the need to monetize social media platforms in the country. Governor Juffa stated that large number of people who are engaging in creating contents on social media platforms are young people and they make about 60% of the online users, unfortunately they are not able to benefit from this growing industry that is benefitting many throughout the world. “This Content creators create amazing contents that promotes Papua New Guinea that can attract tourists and investment and that can also give the world a better picture of this country.” “Social media content creators coming in from other parts of the world to Papua New Guinea and creating contents and are benefitting from it, but our own cannot do so,” Governor Juffa reaffirms. Juffa said local content creates are not benefitting from what they are doing, and this is most likely because of outdated laws and non-existence laws or mechanism that are not in place to allow creators to monetize their social media contents they created. Governor Juffa asked the Acting Minister for Communication and Information, Peter Tsaumalili Junior, that if the Marape Rosso Government have any plans to address these challenges and issues so that it can assist local content creators to generate an income or revenue, especially for the youths who formed large part of the demography? In responds, the Acting Minister for Communication and Information assured all youths and others using the social media space as content creators that apart from the legislative reforms that the department of ICT is working towards to enable that environment, there is also a need to understand the volatile space in which social media is used. Minister Tsiamalili added that it is also seen as imminent threat that not only speaks to the internal challenges in the social media space, but also the external that imposes on sovereignty in terms of the space social media platform is using. “Enabling effective electronic transactions is not the responsibility of one agent alone, it requires a multifaceted government approach involving coordination between ministry of Justice, Ministry of Police, Ministry of Treasury, and the Ministry for ICT.” Specifically, four critical areas must be addressed. Cyber security Data Governance and Protection Cyber Crime Investigation and Enforcement Anti Money Laundering, AML and counter terrorism financing “On the matter cyber security, I am pleased to say that PNG has a national cybersecurity policy framework in place, endorsed by cabinet in 2021. This framework is referred to as a National of 202.” Following this the department of ICT established a national security center which currently monitors over 75 government agency networks and systems. In 2024 cabinet endorsed the National Cyber Security Strategy calling for the establishment of an emergency response framework across critical infrastructure sectors such as water, energy and banking. To operationalize the strategy, in December 2024 the Ministry for ICT did a direct and national information and communication technology authority to develop a regulatory framework for cyber security. “I can confirm that drafting instructions have now been completed, and I have instructed the legislation to be brought before the Parliament in the September seating.” On the matter of data, governance and protection, last year the department of ICT also facilitated development and the subsequent cabinet endorsement for national data governance and protection policy said Tsiamalili. “This government is working to ensure that you do monetize your contents on social media. This is to ensure that the environment in which all this is happening in social media amongst our young men and women and everyone using social media, is protected." “You have the independence to express yourself, but it is within a framework of governance and legal framework that you can monetize your work as a social media creator or an influencer.”