The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) and other media organisations renewed their call on Wednesday for several ”constitutionally objectionable” provisions in the draft Films and Publications Amendment Bill to be omitted from the final legislation.
In a presentation to the National Assembly’s home affairs committee during public hearings on the measure, Sanef representatives said these include the withdrawal from the principal Act of newspaper exemption and the classification of publications.
”Not only do the provisions in question endeavour to regulate expression on the basis of content, but they also constitute a chilling effect upon free expression, a serious threat to editorial independence and a step along a slippery slope, which is unjustifiable in principle and incapable of proper application in practice,” Sanef said.
Among other things, the Bill’s provisions mean that print and online media will have to submit all news reports containing descriptions of sexual assault, indecent assault and rape to the classification committee before publication.
”If one has further regard to the definition of ‘sexual conduct’, all articles on sexual intercourse, regardless as to whether they are educational, artistic or literary works, will have to be submitted to the classification committee.”
The same difficulty will arise in respect of any news report, photograph or article dealing with or depicting declarations of war, violent demonstrations, violent incidents or civil unrest, because of the requirement that descriptions of ”propaganda for war” or ”incitement to imminent violence” will have to be submitted to the publications committee for classification.
”The effect of these provisions is that expression deserving of constitutional protection will now be subject to governmental approval, contrary to the very tenets of freedom of expression,” Sanef said.
On the classification of publications as being X18, the forum said it will be extremely difficult for the media to determine whether content that is in the public interest and which constitutes genuine news items will be ”disturbing or harmful to, or age-inappropriate for, children” due to the overbroad and vague nature of the language used in the Bill.
On this basis, these provisions in the Bill are also unlikely to pass constitutional muster.
In its presentation, the Print Media South Africa (PMSA) delegation, led by president Trevor Ncube, agreed sections of the Bill requiring certain news reports to be first submitted for classification before publication are unconstitutional.
”All provisions in the Bill, which infringe the fundamental right to freedom of expression, must be removed.
”Any attempt to control expression based on content undermines the concept of editorial independence, which is a widely accepted component of and pre-condition for freedom of the press and other media.”
In addition, imposing criminal sanctions for non-compliance will stifle free expression and encourage self-censorship, PMSA said.
South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported Ncube as having said the Bill could lead to a total ban on some reports.
”News is a perishable commodity. A newspaper must be able to immediately report on breaking news. Classification of news reports will significantly undermine this ability and constitute a serious infringement of the right of the freedom of the press.
”The bill does not commit to a time period for the classification process and, if not properly researched, it can affect deadline time for articles to appear in newspapers and magazines,” he said.
Sanef, the South African chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa and the Freedom of Expression Institute all expressed concern over the fast-tracking of the draft Bill earlier this year.
”The media organisations believe that the Bill should be withdrawn and a consultative conference be held to discuss how the ministry’s objectives, which are directed at eliminating the dangers of child pornography, can be achieved.” — Sapa