SABC2 was fined R15 000 after the public broadcaster’s channel was found guilty of showing an 18SNVL movie during family time or before the so-called “watershed” time period.
The BCCSA fined SABC2 R15 000 for showing the film Deadfall for what it called a “serious contravention” by the SABC of South Africa’s broadcasting code.
The SABC admitted that it knew it isn’t supposed to broadcast such a film on a Saturday night at 20:30 during what is still known as the family viewing time period or before the so-called “watershed” time of 21:00 after which more risque TV programming is allowed.
SABC2 blamed the scheduling on a “new and inexperienced employee” and told the BCCSA that management “both in respect of training and day-to-day supervision of the employee had been lacking”.
The SABC must pay the R15 000 before the end of December.
e.tv put safety of children at risk
Meanwhile e.tv and its Edgars She’s the One reality competition show produced by Janez Vermeiren’s Cheeky Media production company was also reprimanded by the BCCSA following viewer complaints for not protecting the privacy of children.
An episode showed the faces of children at the Berea-Hillbrow Home of Hope where children in need of care and protection are being looked after.
E.tv denied that the children’s identities were disclosed by She’s the One although the programme and channel showed their faces. The BCCSA ruled that merely showing their faces is sufficient identification and place them at risk.
According to the Children’s Act of 2005, by showing the faces of children they could be placed at risk since some were the subjects of human trafficking and the victims of sexual exploitation and were removed from people who could possibly find out where a child is being kept now.
A lecturer in the department of social work at the University of the Witwatersrand complained about She’s the One and said that showing children’s faces on camera is “a huge child protection issue in terms of the safety risk of the children”.
“Since some of the children have been removed from abusive homes and in some cases the perpetrator do not know the whereabouts of the the children, the faces of underage children should not be on national television”.
The BCCSA said in its judgment that “it would not need a Sherlock Holmes to trace the address of this home and for any evil-minded person to abduct a child from this home. By showing the faces of the children, we are convinced that their safety and well-being were being put at risk”.
e.tv wasn’t fined for the transgression but got a reprimand.
