The Film and Publication Board (FPB) this morning unveiled the draft Online Regulation Policy to enable the effective regulation and speedy classification of digital content in SA.
The board says the policy was prompted by the increase in Internet access among South Africans and the rise in the digitisation of media products and services; the convergence of media platforms and services; and the globalisation of media platforms, which makes nationally-based regulations more difficult to apply.
The FPB is a public entity of the Department of Communications, established to create the regulation of the creation, production and distribution of films, games and 'certain publications' by way of classifying.
It aims to protect children from exposure to disturbing and harmful material and from premature exposure to adult material. The FPB also criminalises child pornography and the exposure of pornography to children.
The current legislation is not platform-specific, and the FPB's compliance and classification activities have over the years focused more on physical platforms and less on the online space.
Speaking during a media briefing this morning in Johannesburg, Sipho Risiba, chief operations officer at the FPB, said new media and social networking have exacerbated the regulation challenges the board is facing.
"Media convergence, a new technology trend enabled by the digitisation of media content, widespread availability of high-speed broadband connections, and the proliferation of Internet-enabled devices, has fundamentally transformed the way media content is distributed and consumed, not only in SA, but globally," said Risiba.
He added the industry distribution methods have also shifted significantly to online platforms, resulting in the convergence of distribution platforms and in large volumes of content being accessible globally on a 24-hour basis.
According to a 2013 survey conducted by the FPB, the scope and growth for registered companies that provide and distribute online film and video game content is on the rise in SA, said Risiba. He added that South Africans purchase online content from Web sites established in foreign jurisdictions, which also makes regulation more difficult.
Online content is mostly accessed through mobile phones, he noted, adding mobile access to online content has increased levels of vulnerability among underage children to be exposed to adult and harmful experiences.
Thus, he described digitisation as a double-edged sword. "While, on the one hand, digitisation has brought positive outcomes in that consumers can now access media content across global boundaries anytime, anywhere and however they want it, on the other hand, proliferation of child trafficking, grooming and pornography is on the rise."
He explained the challenge for the FPB is that most of the content uploaded online is unclassified and accessible to children.
Risiba revealed that to come up with the draft policy, the FPB conducted tours in Australia, the US, the UK, Brazil and Germany.
The draft policy will force Internet service providers and content generators to take more responsibility to ensure cyber safety, and assist in combating racism, hate speech and child pornography online, he pointed out.
Describing the purpose to the policy, Risiba said it aims to provide uniform classification of all media content regardless of platform, uniform labelling of media content online, and co-regulation between FPB and industry to ensure uniform classification and compliance monitoring.
Concluding, he said the policy will be published in the Government Gazette today. Any person who wishes to submit representations or comments is invited to do so within 90 days from the date of publication.
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