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7 December 2006
Online adult material distribution outlawed
BY
DAVE GLAZIER
, ITWEB JOURNALIST
READ IN THIS STORY:
[
Johannesburg, 7 December 2006
] -
From January, it will be illegal for South African online distributors of adult material to continue trading, as the Film and Publications Board (FPB) gives distributors until the end of this month to stop their services.
“Internet distributors of adult material have until 31 December 2006 to discontinue the distribution of adult material on the Internet,” says an FPB press statement.
“Distribution of adult material on the Internet is in contravention of Section 24 of the Films and Publications Act,” it adds.
Spokesman and senior officer of the FPB Iyavar Chetty says the FPB's ultimatum concerns only those Web sites that are selling pornographic goods, not to Web sites that only feature pornography.
He says the board will take action when it comes across a Web site continuing to market pornographic goods, and when complaints are received.
Difficult to enforce
“Enforcement will inevitably be difficult,” says ForgeAhead's head of research Adrian Schofield. “The current technology does not appear to be able to stop this from happening – they [the online pornography distributors] will probably simply change their address, and carry on until they get caught again.”
Although he agrees with the FPB's decision, he says things like spamming and phishing would not exist if SA effectively regulated its online environment.
“The issue is whether there will be sufficient Big Brother intervention from the authorities. It's a catch-22 situation: do you allow a person the freedom to access whatever they want, as part of our democratic ideal; or do you limit some freedoms in the name of protection?”
More pertinently, he adds, is the question of where one stops with the limitation of freedoms.
Doing it legally
The FPB – a statutory body established by the Films and Publications Act of 1996 – adds it has received many complaints from the public regarding “the distribution and exhibition of materials containing depictions, descriptions or sequences of sexual conduct via the Internet, by mail-order and through mobile cellular phones”.
“The board advises the SAPS to investigate and charge any person using above-mentioned media for distribution of films, interactive computer games or publications, which have either not been classified by the board, or [are] classified ‘XX' or ‘X18' (pornographic classifications).”
Only those who hold a licence to distribute adult content on stipulated business premises may distribute or exhibit materials classified ‘X18', provided that such distribution or exhibition takes place within those premises, adds Chetty.
It is understood that adult dating sites, where users can upload their own photos, do not need to be registered and classified with the FPB.
“Internet distributors of adult material have until 31 December 2006 to discontinue the distribution of adult material on the Internet,” says an FPB press statement.
“Distribution of adult material on the Internet is in contravention of Section 24 of the Films and Publications Act,” it adds.
Spokesman and senior officer of the FPB Iyavar Chetty says the FPB's ultimatum concerns only those Web sites that are selling pornographic goods, not to Web sites that only feature pornography.
He says the board will take action when it comes across a Web site continuing to market pornographic goods, and when complaints are received.
Difficult to enforce
“Enforcement will inevitably be difficult,” says ForgeAhead's head of research Adrian Schofield. “The current technology does not appear to be able to stop this from happening – they [the online pornography distributors] will probably simply change their address, and carry on until they get caught again.”
Although he agrees with the FPB's decision, he says things like spamming and phishing would not exist if SA effectively regulated its online environment.
“The issue is whether there will be sufficient Big Brother intervention from the authorities. It's a catch-22 situation: do you allow a person the freedom to access whatever they want, as part of our democratic ideal; or do you limit some freedoms in the name of protection?”
More pertinently, he adds, is the question of where one stops with the limitation of freedoms.
Doing it legally
 |
| ForgeAhead's head of research Adrian Schofield |
“The board advises the SAPS to investigate and charge any person using above-mentioned media for distribution of films, interactive computer games or publications, which have either not been classified by the board, or [are] classified ‘XX' or ‘X18' (pornographic classifications).”
Only those who hold a licence to distribute adult content on stipulated business premises may distribute or exhibit materials classified ‘X18', provided that such distribution or exhibition takes place within those premises, adds Chetty.
It is understood that adult dating sites, where users can upload their own photos, do not need to be registered and classified with the FPB.
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