7 minute read
Client Interciew - Film and Publication Board
Dr. Mashilo Boloka, CEO at the Film and Publication Board
Tasked with the critical role of regulating online content, the Film and Publication Board protects the public against harmful and prohibited content, under the leadership of CEO, Dr Mashilo Boloka. Dr Boloka has more than 15 years of public service experience - performing various roles including policy development and regulatory oversight - and he currently sits on the Board of the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE). Equipped with a doctoral degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Boloka has taught at various universities and is now leading efforts against online Child Sexual Abuse Material.
Beyond the duties of strategy implementation and management, Dr Boloka oversees the classification and adherence to the FPB ratings, monitoring compliance with Film and Publications Act and facilitating collaboration with regulatory partners for online safety and enforcement. Here Dr Boloka explains how the Board ensures consumer protection, what issues are top mind in the regulatory space and more.
How Does The Board Ensure Consumer Protection?
Awareness creation on online safety matters and educating consumers on how to make responsible viewing choices, while protecting themselves (especially children) from harmful content is a key focus for FPB with the aim to protect consumers. We empower communities through outreach and advocacy activities, targeted training sessions and ongoing online education speaking to industry, parents, learners, teachers and collaborating with our government entities and partners.
What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do?
Seeing the vulnerable groups, particularly women and children being protected online through our public education and awareness activities;
Putting perpetrators of online harms and violence against vulnerable groups behind bars;
Being part of collaborative movements to curb online harms and creating a safer online environment through the efforts and activities of multiple stakeholders, regulators, NGOs, industry, academia, parents and the youth.
How Has Technology and The Internet Impacted on Content Availability and Copywright?
Technology advancements and the internet have made content accessibility and availability everywhere. However, they have unfortunately undermined the copyright regime throughout the world. As an example, the biggest new distributors in the modern world do not even own a single camera or have journalists anywhere. These new distributors publish news stories and rake in millions in advertising from the products they do not own without even compensating the owners. That’s the highest form of exploitation or slavery of our time. I appeal to the policymakers to deal with this problem through revision of copyright laws that are futuristic and account for the new world.
As a Public Entity Reporting To the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, Pleas Unpack The Board's Relationship with The Ministry?
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) is our policy-maker and we are its implementing agency. We regularly report to them on the progress we make on the implementation of the policies assigned to us and raise whatever challenges we experience in this regard and propose policy interventions required.
What Have Been Your Most Significant Milestones as CEO?
Being able to transform the FPB from a narrow classification authority to an agile online safety regulator that is still able to perform its three regulatory functions, while driving a high performing organisation, evident through clean governance and exceptional performance rating;
Pushing the FPB to be represented on the boards of international organisations such as INHOPE and newly-established Global Online Safety regulators (GOSRN). The appointment to these boards shows the trust not only in the FPB as an organisation, but South Africa and Africa as a whole
What Is On The Horizon That You Are Looking For?
There are three issues which are set to not only dominate the online safety regulatory space, but also to shape it, namely:
Regulatory coherence and enforcement at the global level
Privacy and child protection: the challenges of encryption, age assurance and verification technologies for child-oriented services and data privacy,
Organisationally, the partnership with the Independent Electoral Commission in ensuring that the harmful/prohibited content such as misinformation/disinformation does not undermine the integrity of this important democratic process. For us as the FPB this will be a major test of our capacity as we will be doing this for the first time. But whatever lessons learnt, will prepare us for the next elections
Please Share a Message With Our PSL Readers
The online environment is a vast world with immense opportunities. Equally, there are threats and dangers lurking. As we connect, we must reflect and be responsible! Online safety is a collective responsibility for all of us.
Safer Internet Day 2024
As a member of INHOPE, The Film and Publication Board (FPB) hosted the annual Safer Internet Day (SID) in Cape Town, Woodstock on Tuesday, 6 February 2024. Joined by the Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, and other entities, the FPB invited like-minded stakeholders to participate in this global initiative to raise awareness for emerging online safety social ills such as cyberbullying and the dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
The theme “Together for a Better Internet” was echoed throughout the day and highlighted by speakers and panellists, which included a keynote address by the honourable Deputy Minister Philly Mapulane, FPB CEO Dr Mashilo Boloka and Council members, CEOs and leaders from INHOPE, Google South Africa and Miss World South Africa 2023, Dr Claude Mashego.
Deputy Minister Mapulane stated: “As part of government’s initiative to reach out to communities, in this case our young people, we aim to support our citizens who require critical information to secure their safety particularly on the online space. As they say colloquially, the internet is not sleeping, and neither should we.”
The Cape Town Junior City Council representatives engaged in a robust panel discussion and ten of the members challenged the platform providers and technology industry, shared recommendations with government entities and they put focus on their concerns in terms of online harms and how they want to be protected.
A focal point for discussions were centred around misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation refers to false or misleading information that is unwittingly shared, while disinformation is false or misleading that is deliberately created and distributed with an intent to deceive or harm. “The rapid spread of misinformation or disinformation online has emerged as a pressing public issue of the 21st century that affects all those accessing online networks as well as those offline.
Children are predominantly the most active internet users, however they do not always have the cognitive and emotional capacity to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information. As a result, not only can they become victims of online abuse, but may also spread it among their peers”, says Dr Boloka.
The youth’s concerns were addressed and responded to by a panel of experts from the South African Police Service, UNICEF, Jelly Beanz and FPB’s Adv. Lindhorst. The panel emphasised the solutions and tools available to the youth, how they can access these tools and that attention should be given to the entire cycle that an online victim experiences –from the moment the incident happens, how it is managed, who they reach out to for support and the importance of trauma counselling.
“While SID is a highlight date on the calendar, we as FPB, together with our participating partners and stakeholders, continue on our mission to ensure a safer internet and the protection of especially children and vulnerable groups from online harms” concluded Dr Boloka.
Postal Address: ECO Glade 2, 420 Witch Hazel Street, ECO Park, Centurion, 0169
Postel Address: Private Bag X31, Highveld Park, 0169
Email: clientsupport@fpb.org.za
Website: fpb.org.za
