The US Department of State in its 2008 Human Rights Report on Fiji stated that the interim government did not fully respect a person or organizations right to freedom of speech.

It stated while the independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views, however the government warned media outlets against making “inciteful comments" and most practiced some degree of self-censorship.

According to the report there were instances in which the government attempted to impede or censor journalists news coverage highlighting the case on January 25, where police detained a television news crew for five hours for "disturbing police activity" while filming a news segment on a public sidewalk and prohibited a television station from broadcasting an interview with the son of a prominent politician, on the grounds that the interview contained "inciteful comments."

Another case highlighted in the Human Rights report was on December 15, where immigration authorities prohibited a foreign journalist from entering the country based on a secret "military watch list".

The journalist had been placed on the list in July after filing a story that the military characterized as "negative".

The journalist was detained overnight in an immigration holding centre, prevented from seeing consular staff that came to offer assistance, and placed on a flight to her home country.

However, the Chairperson for the Fiji Human Rights Commission Dr Shaista Shameem said what the report fails to take into account, is that these rights come with limitations, particularly in times of political upheaval.