In a shocking case, the SABC that was slammed as grossly negligent, has been fined R10 000 after its SABC3 weekday TV soap Isidingo decided to use a woman's real telephone number that invaded her privacy and caused such havoc in her life that she even got a warning letter at work.
Meanwhile the SABC as part of its defense said "mistakes like these are bound to happen at some point".
While the American TV industry for decades has
used fake digits starting with "5-5-5", the SABC used a real woman's real cell
phone number in a late November 2016 episode of Isidingo on SABC3 that immediately caused havoc in her life.
She was instantly flooded by a barrage of calls
and messages that she couldn’t control. It got so bad that she was disciplined
through a warning letter in December 2016, negatively impacting her HR record
at the railway company she works for.
The SABC offered up an apology but the woman,
Thapelo Diale, who had lodged a complaint with the Broadcasting Complaints
Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), said that wasn't enough for the personal chaos
Isidingo caused and that she had to
endure as a result of the South African public broadcaster's negligence.
She told the BCCSA of the emotional harm and
verbal abuse she suffered when answering her phone when it was calls from
people who got her number from Isidingo.
The SABC told the BCCSA that actor Shona
Ferguson, who plays Thapelo "Tyson" Mokoena in Isidingo produced by Endemol Shine Africa, was told by the director
in a scene shot in October 2016, to write down a cell phone number for another
character as per the script.
The SABC revealed that the Endemol Shine
Africa's script for the Isidingo
episode "did not have a cell number for the character to use at the time when
the scene was being shot".
That was when the Isidingo character of Thapelo wrote down the number of a real-life
Thapelo – that of Thapelo Diale living in Johannesburg.
The SABC had the audacity to tell the BCCSA
that "mistakes like these are bound to happen at some point" because "human
beings drive the SABC".
'Unprecedented,
serious negative consequences'
In its judgment the BCCSA found that the SABC
invaded the privacy of the complainant, and that the shocking mistake "had
unprecedented, extraordinary and serious negative consequences".
The BCCSA said "it constituted a breach of
her privacy and disrupted her work and that of her colleagues".
The BCCSA slammed the SABC as "grossly negligent
to randomly choose a cell phone number for use in a popular soap opera".
The BCCSA said "many viewers form personal
relationships with actors and therefore may continue to call the number. The
scriptwriters and producers should have foreseen that the number could be a
real and private number belonging to somebody".
Invited to the Isidingo set
After the decision to do an on-air apology, Thapelo Diale appealed the judgment, saying she didn't believe that the judgment is proportional
to the offence.
She told the BCCSA that "I feel that Isidingo seems to be getting away with just a slap on the wrist
whereas we don't even know if the apology will actually stop the consequence of
their negligence; not forgetting the irreparable dent to my employment record
by way of a warning letter."
"It needs to hit
them in the pocket so as to appreciate the magnitude of the inconvenience
caused."
The SABC's
broadcasting compliance department that argued for an apology to suffice, told
the BCCSA's said that "given the time that has since elapsed since the incident took
place, broadcasting an apology shows that the SABC is a caring and responsive
broadcaster".
The SABC said "this unfortunate incident has
taught us critical lessons about handling matters about invasion of privacy".
Later on during the hearing, the SABC offered to broadcast an apology and invite Thapelo Diale to the Isidingo set to meet the actors as well
as Shona Ferguson who gave out her cell phone number on the air.
In the end Thapelo Diale and the SABC
agreed that the SABC shouldn't broadcast an apology, with Diale fearing that it
might encourage even more callers to start calling her number again.
She also asked that the SABC's
lawyers must urgently write her employer to explain what happened and to ask
for the warning letter that she got to be rescinded, and that the SABC must
ensure that her cell phone number is removed from all Isidingo footage and the soap’s YouTube uploads.
"The SABC failed to
demonstrate that it took exceptional care and consideration before calling out
a mobile number live on TV, without first checking out if it belongs to
anyone," the BCCSA found.
"This act, in our view is tantamount to gross
negligence on the part of the broadcaster."
The BCCSA fined the SABC R10 000 that
must be paid before 20 April.
