Chairperson of Film and Publication Board council, Zama Mkosi during a press briefing on South Africa's Films and Publications Amendment Act, which was declared operational on 1 March (Photo via Jacques Nelles/The Citizen).
The South African Film and Publication Board, or FPB,
held a briefing on Thursday discussing changes to the 2019 FPB Amendments Act
and explained the expanded role of the FPB in protecting the public from
harmful content in a digital age.
The role of the Film and Publication board or FPB is
to regulate the content of films, games and certain publications through
classifications. They do so by balancing freedom of speech with the obligation
to protect families and young children from potentially harmful materials.
The 2019 FPB Amendments act is meant to bring the
classification system more aligned with the national constitution. The FPB says
this legislation prioritizes protection of children from harmful content and
creates mechanisms for the board to regulate online platforms.
The board said there was a need for new regulations
because of the ever evolving digital sphere, which has now overtaken our
society. They said these new regulations allow for the decriminalization of
adult content on digital platforms. The regulations also create a system for
independent, third-party classifying of content outside of the official;
ratings given by the FPB.
The Amendment Act was signed into law and enacted last
Tuesday, 1 March. The FPB held a briefing to discuss its
impact later in the week. Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital
Technologies, Philly Mapulane said signing the bill into law was monumental.
Mapulane said the amendments act was about balancing
rights and responsibilities in our democratic Constitution in a new digital
world.
According to the South African Audit Bureau of Circulation, daily newspaper circulation declined 14 percent last year,
meanwhile mobile connections in the country grew by more than 3 million in that
same span.
Mapulane said the reality of more reliance on digital
platforms to provide information also means policy must adapt to suit the needs
of the people.
The amendment act aims to provide greater clarity for
online regulations and provide clear guidelines about punishments for
violations.
Those new regulations seek to provide mechanisms for the public to report issues it sees in content moderation.
The act gives may also give the FPB a bit more power
because it addresses what is public, what is commercial, and what the board is
allowed to classify.
At the briefing, Chairperson of the FPB Council, Zama
Mkosi, said this act is a step toward progress. She said she believes it will
help facilitate the flow of information across the country.
Mkosi said the internet age brings both benefits and
challenges. For example, it promotes freedom of expression, but it also creates
more platforms for trauma.
The chairperson said while the new amendment act is
progress, it isn’t perfect because the speed of the law rarely keeps up with
the progress of technology.
Mkosi said she believes the FPB Amendment act modernizes the law to bring it closer to the realities of the digital world. She said it does this through two approaches: self-regulation and distinguishing commercial from non-commercial distributors online.
An additional change brought by the amendment is the establishment of an enforcement committee which is a quasi-judicial program that conducts investigations into disputed cases of the FPB amendments act.
The department of communications said these changes to the amendment are aimed at protecting South Africans and preparing them for the digital age.
The Department of Communications said it is prepared
to engage with the public through workshops and listening sessions to ensure all
South Africans are on the same page about the changes created by the FPB
Amendments Act.
By Ben Rappaport
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