Lecture
reflection 2017/05/09
Censorship (Filtering)
We
generally have digital freedom of expression in South Africa, but with this
freedom comes responsibility. To give an example of somebody that was
irresponsible, the Hout Bay resident, Vanessa Hartley made racial slurs on
Facebook. She commented that too many “black” people are flocking to Hout Bay
beach. Our constitution allows one freedom of expression, but not at the
expense of others. Vanessa Hartley clearly had a backwards opinion that
belonged in the heyday of Apartheid. She was severely criticised on social
media for her comments and her Facebook page removed. Clearly social media is a
dangerous tool “at the fingertips” of somebody like her and people like her
needs to be censored.
In
2006 the government started censoring sites displaying explicit sexual
material, it included violent sexual acts and child pornography. Online media
in South Africa is currently regulated under the Films and Publications Act of
1996 as amended. This law is currently under review and is about to be amended.
The current Bill states that individuals that distribute pornographic material
without the consent of the individual appearing in the material, are guilty of a
crime. This individual will be convicted or fine (R150 000 max) or a maximum
of 2 years sentence.
On this aspect of the law, I would agree that censorship is necessary. But I’m also
concerned that the Bill will curb my freedom. There are many, like the “right
to know” lobby group. They oppose this Bill if it would come into effect. This
lobby group primarily focuses on corruption in government, their fear is that
certain individuals will use the law to prevent exposing themselves or their
corrupt activities. In our current climate (politically speaking), the Bill
needs to be debated on before being implemented, this is too expose any loopholes that certain individulas might exploit. But censorship remains a contentious issue. I have included a YouTube link,
it is a debate competition on censorship.
