SA takes new measures to combat child porn
Internet Proves to be a Stumbling Block
THE SOUTH AFRICAN government has been forced to bring forward the coming into force of a new law in a desperate attempt to tackle the scourge of child pornography.
The department of Home Affairs brought forward by a month the implementation of the Films and Publications Act, 1996, after two alleged child pornography dealers evaded prosecution because of loopholes in existing legislation. The new act makes it an offence to distribute, possess and import child pornography, including pornography on the Internet.
In February, the Eastern Cape attorney-general dropped charges against an alleged child pornography dealer because he thought the existing legislation was unconstitutional (the Constitutional Court having earlier struck down a section of the 1967 Indecent or Obscene Publications Act), and the new law had not been promulgated.
In April, a Johannesburg Internet designer, who was alleged to be involved in child pornography, was released after 60 computer disks containing pornographic material were seized at his home. Although some of the disks contained damning evidence of child pornography, the attorney general found that "no provision could be made for an arrest."
The new act closes the loophole and provides for up to five years for each item defined as child pornography. While in essence legalising certain forms of pornography, the act makes illegal all forms of child pornography, bestiality and extreme violence.
While the new law has generally been welcomed by child protection agencies, freedom of expression experts have pointed out the difficulty in monitoring and policing the mischief without unduly interfering with expression.
There is also concern about the impossibility of policing child pornography on the Internet. As Gavin Dudley, editor of the on-line magazine, PC Review, points out in an article in The Sunday Independent, "There's a whole grey area of how you could unwittingly be in possession. Most people don't know it, (but) your computer keeps careful track of everything you view on your screen, so it will temporarily store on your hard drive everything you view." This means that even if you don't actively download an image, you could still be breaking the law.
Enforcing the law against child pornography on the Internet will also prove to be a tall order for a police force that has few or no computer skills.
In order to further combat child pornography on the Internet, the government has promised to amend South African laws to make them consistent with the relevant legislation of other countries. It has also appointed a task team to formulate guiding principles, taking into account the need to protect children from abuse without affecting the free flow of information.
But Lindiwe Sisulu, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, concedes that "the Internet is far too complex and costly for any government to regulate. We will depend to a large extent on citizens reporting child pornography on websites, and on the service providers taking on a responsible role in helping the government in the regulation of the industry."
Njonjo Mue
Article 19
