South Africa’s new rules for sharing content on Facebook and WhatsApp
The Flim and Publication Board (FPB) has published new draft industry codes and guidelines aimed at preventing online harm in South Africa.
The new regulations, which also aim to provide guidance for peer-to-peer content sharing in the country, are open for public comment until 8 September 2023.
South Africa’s content classification and regulation authority published the new codes and guidelines in three parts.
In brief, these parts span classifying harmful content, preventing online harm, and guidelines for peer-to-peer video sharing.
According to the regulator, harmful or prohibited content includes child pornography, so-called “revenge porn”, hate speech, and content which amounts to propaganda for war, incitement of imminent violence, advocacy of hatred based on an identifiable group characteristic, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.
It broadly describes harmful content as content that causes emotional, psychological or moral distress to a person, whether it be through a film, game, or publication through any on or offline medium, including through the Internet.
The FBP said it is obligated to improve how it regulates prohibited and harmful content, “due to the proliferation of child sexual abuse material cases” it deals with daily.
The proposed regulations include forcing online platforms to implement mechanisms to lessen online harm. It shared several minimum standards to which online players must adhere:
- They may not host or distribute prohibited content;
- They must immediately suspend access to prohibited content if they become aware of it on their platform(s);
- These players must make consumer support easily available through any means of communication, including email, phone, and WhatsApp;
- Similarly, players must implement systems to let consumers lodge complaints regarding prohibited content; and,
- Prohibited content must be reported to the FPB.
Prohibited content comprises explicit sexual conduct that violates or shows disrespect for any person’s right to human dignity, explicit infliction of domestic violence, or explicit visual representations of extreme violence.
It also includes bestiality, incest, rape, and conduct or an act degrading to anyone.
In October 2022, the FPB issued South African Internet service providers’ (ISPs) with a legal notice demanding that they comply with amendments to the Film and Publications Act.
It gave the ISPs three months to register with the FPB and provide reports about prohibited materials on their networks.
It said ISPs must provide proof of their steps to prevent their services from being used to host and distribute prohibited content.
South Africa’s Internet Service Provider Association (ISPA) declined to challenge the FPB’s demand and instructed ISPs to register with the regulator.
Ellipsis founder and regulatory expert Dominic Cull has been vocal in his criticism of the FPB Act amendment, particularly regarding its vagueness of the incitement and hate speech provisions.
However, Cull, who also serves as ISPA’s regulatory advisor, said ISPs have been required to register under the FPB Act since 2004. However, this was never consistently enforced.
“Those who fall within the definition of ISP have no choice but to comply with the registration requirement,” he said.
Peer-to-peer video sharing
The FPB also published draft guidelines for peer-to-peer video sharing in South Africa to guide consumers on how to share videos among peers and peer groups on various platforms.
Peer-to-peer platforms are described as distributed platforms that allow the sharing of content between two users with no intermediary.
However, the FPB has expanded on this definition to include direct messaging and private groups, such as on Facebook, WhatsApp, or Telegram.
The Film and Publications Act prohibits the sharing, through any medium, of private sexual photographs or videos:
- Without the consent of the person or people who appear in the content; and,
- With intent to cause that person harm.
The FPB published several guidelines for sharing photos or videos on peer-to-peer platforms:
- Respect copyright and intellectual property;
- Consider privacy;
- Make sure the content is lawful;
- Follow the individual platforms’ user guidelines and terms of service;
- Obtain consent to share the content;
- Consider context and appropriateness;
- Provide the correct attribution and accreditation; and,
- Consider user safety and well-being.
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