by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE Internet Services Providers Association of South Africa (ISPA) calls for local debate around the growing global issue of age verification on the web.
With a myriad of online threats being faced by minors and vulnerable persons, the official internet industry representative body believes engagement is necessary to properly define these threats before combating them.
“From the days when freedom of expression arguments ruled virtually unopposed, there is now general consensus amongst responsible people and organisations that there should be some type of external mechanism to ensure young people are not exposed to age inappropriate material,” said Dominic Cull, ISPA regulatory advisor.
This year is to see an increased rollout of age verification measures intended to make it harder for children to access adult content.
A number of regions in the United States have already enacted age-verification obligations while there are initiatives underway in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union among others.
“On the surface this looks like a simple issue, but it is both legally and technically complex,” Cull said.
“The principal argument in favour is the need to wind back the clock and protect children and other vulnerable groups from adult content online and adult experiences on social media platforms.”
Cull noted that opponents, however, regarded age verification systems as surveillance systems which threaten privacy and personal security rights and which are ineffective, easy to abuse and simple to circumvent.
ISPA believes a balance must be found within the South African framework of Constitutional rights and laws such as the Protection of Personal Information Act.
It argues the existing South African legal and legislative environment governing online harms is “not fit for this purpose.”
ISPA adds the issue furthermore cannot be addressed by the country’s ISPs alone. The organisation says it has been proactive, especially via its takedown notice (TDN) procedure.
Meanwhile, the South African Law Reform Commission had undertaken an initial step into children and access to pornography online.
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) remains the default age appropriate content custodian.
However, ISPA argues the country must now begin to discuss specific mechanisms to protect vulnerable groups with international developments top of mind.
“It’s common cause that access to internet content needs to be restricted based on the user’s age. ISPA looks forward to engaging with other responsible internet industry stakeholders on how to address this,” Cull concluded.
– CAJ News