The South African Convergence Bill drafters must focus on criticisms raised by industry stakeholders or face the flight of the sector abroad, says Pravesh Singh, an information technology (IT) law specialist at Jan S de Villiers.
“The delay in passing the Bill has given the drafters a welcome opportunity to clarify and rectify a number of areas concern for stakeholders, and they must act on it,” he says.
According to Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri the Bill — which has undergone months of discussion in the private sector — is likely to come before parliament after April.
“Despite Minister Matsepe-Casaburri’s assurance that it is a misunderstanding of the Bill that website owner’s will need to apply for licences for their sites, a face value reading of the legislation leaves little doubt that this is what will be required.
“Other developing countries which have introduced a Convergence Act, and with whom we hope to compete, such as Malaysia, have not required licences for content providers,” Singh argued.
Matsepe-Casaburri recently told Terra Viva Online: “At the moment, the internet is governed by laws specific to one country (even) one state, in one particular country. And, it doesn’t really allow for participation of other people. Like all things which start in a particular place, it is shaped by a particular culture.
“I think what people are saying is that the way the internet is governed should not be subject to the law of one state. Because should there be conflict, a developing country like Bangladesh would have to sue in the courts of the United States. I mean, really! Give us a break.”
Singh however noted that the Bill says it will impose ‘social obligations’ on businesses distributing content over the internet or any electronic communications.
“However, the Bill provides no guidelines to the meaning of this phrase, leaving business perplexed. We can only assume these will be contained in regulations yet to be published by the Minister. The uncertainty around this provision is not good for local investment confidence,” he argues.
Singh says in a country like South Africa, “where we are attempting to encourage local investment and development these further obligations on business will have the effect limiting our IT growth, as businesses move their IT and websites offshore.” – I-Net Bridge