FPB appoints cyber inspectors

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 12 Dec 2006

The Film and Publications Board (FPB) has appointed two "cyber inspectors" to patrol the information superhighway.

The content analysts will follow up public complaints logged with the board's anti-child-pornography hotline, says FPB spokesman Iyvar Chetty. The cyber patrol will also explore and log their own complaints through the random checking of local sites.

"The board has a hotline for the reporting of child pornography that people stumble across. The hotline has to verify the accuracy of the report in order to process a 'take-down' notice with the relevant ISP [Internet service provider]," says Chetty.

"That is what the content analyst will do - verify the accuracy of reports received at the hotline. Note that any information about any person suspected of involvement with child pornography must be reported to the police. The hotline is intended to deal only with child pornography Web sites that one may stumble across in the course of surfing the Internet for some legitimate purpose," Chetty adds.

Training in the UK

The two sleuths will receive appropriate training in the UK from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), an industry-sponsored British Internet "watchdog". The IWF operates a hotline similar to that of the FPB. It aims to minimise the availability of potentially illegal Internet content, specifically child abuse images hosted anywhere in the world, and criminally obscene and racist content hosted in the UK.

ISPs, mobile operators and manufacturers, content service providers and telecommunications and software companies fund the IWF.

FPB CEO Shokie Bopape-Dlomo said in October the appointment of content analysts had been contemplated for some time.

The appointment comes as a deadline looms for local online distributors of adult material to desist doing so by 31 December. The FPB said in September that the distribution of adult material on the Internet is in contravention with section 24 of the Films and Publications Act.

"Anyone distributing after the above set date will be punished accordingly as stipulated in the Act," the board said.