On 2 October 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Films
and Publications Amendment Bill (“the
Bill”) into law. The Bill has attracted controversy,
being dubbed the “Internet Censorship Bill”. The Films
and Publication Board (“the Board”), a
statutory body established by the Films and Publication Act, 1996,
has as its main objective, among others, to regulate the creation,
possession, production and distribution of films, games and certain
publications with a view to protect children from disturbing and
harmful content. The memorandum published with the Bill indicates
that while the Board has predominantly focussed its classification
and monitoring activities on physical platforms it has become
apparent that more attention must be paid to digital platforms and
social media. In particular, the memorandum provides that "the
increasing demands for online content and technological advances
require the Board to extend its focus to the regulation of content
on these
