Speech by Ms Inka Mars MP
|
National Assembly Cape Town: 14 June 2007 Madam Speaker:The original draft of the Film and Publications Amendment Bill caused great concern and debate not only with the affected media but also the general public. The IFP maintains that the exemption contained in Section 22(3) of the existing bill be maintained. In is extensive public hearings the print media, through Sanef, made clear its willingness to tighten self regulation and we see a necessity for further discussions on this matter. The IFP reiterates its commitment to the constitutions definition of Freedom of Expression contained in Section 16 of the bill of rights and its limitations. The very open and constructive public hearings and debates requiring numerous extra meeting certainly produced results close to our views. The Bill extends child protection laws and criminalises creating, distributing and possession of child pornography through internet and cell phones. Internet and cell phone providers are no longer self-regulatory and subject to offences for non-compliance with the regulation. Child pornography was a major issue in the Public hearings and subsequent committee discussions. The IFP wishes to record its commitment to finding workable solutions to limiting access by young people to all forms of pornography. While I have outlined the reasons why the IFP supports the Bill, I would be remiss in my duty if I did not highlight a major concern of my party. This concern is not about what the Bill does, but rather what it expressly does not do. I am of course referring to controlling juvenile access to pornography and especially child pornography. The Bill does not at all deal with this major problem. We know that juveniles have found ways to bypass access systems that would normally have prevented them from accessing pornography on the Internet or cell phones. And, we should realise that whatever new control systems are designed, they will definitely try their best to find a way of bypassing them too. The IFP therefore proposes that a comprehensive investigation be launched into international best practise on access control systems to find the mechanisms that are best suited to South African conditions and our technological position. We should then implement them vigorously with the assistance of the operators and owners of the various platforms. In the meantime we should continue our research and monitoring of the extent to which juveniles are able to access undesirable content on the Internet, cell phones and other technologies and partner with operators, parents and others to discourage undesirable behaviour. Thank you. |