I think we can all remember a time when connecting to the internet required some kind of elaborate dial-up system and came complete with the soundtrack to R2-D2’s morning bowel movements. The internet has come a long way since then but, if the new regulation policy proposed by the Film and Publications Board (FBP) comes to pass, it looks like we are headed back to the dark ages.

I’ll stop being so melodramatic and try to outline exactly what the main measures proposed in the draft policy are. Let me be clear about this – the Daily Maverick article covers just about every angle at great length so below is something of a summary:

The aspect of the FPB policy which has caused the most alarm is the vague nature of the imprecise language and definitions. The first rule of policy-making is that it ought to be precise and specific, leaving no room for interpretation. The fact that so many concerned parties are all left unsure of who this policy actually applies to, indicates that there is something very wrong with the drafting of the policy.

Right, imprecise language aside, let’s cover some of the basics:

…the policy demands pre-classification of published content. This means that anyone wishing to post anything in a digital space, first needs to apply to the FPB for a digital online distributers licence (and pay a fee) and thereafter submit each piece of content to the FPB for pre-classification before it can be posted online (and pay another fee).

…the policy does allow for the regulation of personal individual communications/publications…This means that ordinary citizens who distribute private personal content may be automatically criminalised for doing something as simple as, for example, sending a WhatsApp message to a friend.

That above measure is ostensibly to protect children online but the clunky wording means it could be used for ulterior motives.

Critics of the policy have maintained that it may inhibit freedom of expression in journalism, both for smaller independent news publishers or mainstream news media outlets and their online platforms.

The FPB displays a dearth of understanding of how the Internet actually works. It boggles the mind to imagine that the FPB believes that it is even possible to monitor or restrict the swathes of content which is uploaded onto the Internet each minute. This is impossible. Hundreds of hours of YouTube content is uploaded in South Africa each day, while millions of pieces of new text content is posted online daily.

FPB classifiers can show up at your business or home, rummage through your stuff, pretty much do as they please, and there’s not a damned thing you can do about it. Ever read Orwell’s 1984?

The policy does nothing to actually protect children, but the FPB (ab)uses the cause of children to surface its own moralistic, draconian, authoritarian position. Our children can be deeply offended. In principle at least, it is the Film and Publications Board who are here, the real child abusers

I’m going to stop there because to understand the far-reaching implications these new regulations could have, it is necessary to read the Daily Maverick piece in full (HERE). The long and the short of it? Let’s hope someone kicks up a fuss before this comes to pass – I certainly don’t need anyone snooping around in my personal messages.

[source:dailymaverick]