ISPA welcomes Film Bill extension

8 November 2006

ISPA (The Internet Service Provider Association of SA) welcomes the extension of the period for the finalisation of the Films and Publications Amendment Bill [Bill 27 of 2006] to the next session of Parliament in 2007.

In its laudable efforts to protect minors from sexual exploitation in the media, ISPA believes the proposed Amendment Bill to the Film and Publications Act [Act No. 65 of 1996] targets the wrong entities, presents confusing definitions, is not technology-neutral, is procedurally unfair and tramples on media freedoms.

ISPA agrees that the extension will give stakeholders the opportunity to discuss all the policy issues that have arisen and believes this decision demonstrates government’s commitment to media freedom and broad consultation.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) rarely provide content themselves and rather facilitate connectivity. Nevertheless ISPA is concerned about the requirements that content should be submitted for classification prior to publishing it on the internet.

As far as the direct impact on ISPs is concerned, the primary offending section of the draft Bill is Section 24C which potentially makes ISPs responsible for Internet chat services they don’t actually run. The section should be amended to be technology-neutral instead of incorrectly targeting ISPs. If obligations are to be imposed they should apply irrespective of the medium of communication used.

The proposed Section 24C refers to “child-orientated services” without defining them. ISPA recommends that this means services which are specifically targeted at children rather than adults and limited to contact services which allow users to contact each other and exchange communications.

Obligations should be imposed on the operators of child-orientated contact services who are unlikely to be the ISP itself. Targeting the bandwidth provider rather than the person actually providing a service to children may allow the operators of child-orientated services to avoid their obligations.

The Bill also places an obligation on ISPs to provide “all their subscribers” with filtering software. ISPA supports this initiative to give customers both the know-how and the tools to protect children from potentially harmful content, and views this requirement as appropriate for home users and schools. However, child protection software is somewhat inappropriate for the corporate market. In addition, corporate solutions are more sophisticated, and supplying them at no charge to the customer could cause an ISP to incur massive costs. ISPA has also suggested that the obligation should not be to provide the software but rather to provide customers with the ability to obtain the software.

Notes to Editors:
The Internet Service Providers’ Association is a South African Internet industry body incorporated not for gain. ISPA currently has about 120 members, comprised of large, medium and small Internet service and access providers in South Africa. Formed in 1996, ISPA has historically served as an active industry body, facilitating exchange between the different independent Internet service providers, the Department of Communications, ICASA, operators and other service providers in South Africa.