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.
Meanwhile e.tv and its Edgars advertiser-funded
production (AFP), She’s the One also
got rapped over the knuckles by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South
Africa (BCCSA) for showing the faces and identifying
The BCCSA fined SABC2 R15 000 for showing
the film Dead Fall 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.
