The illegal distribution of films and games not only impacts on the revenue of content creators, but also puts children at risk of exposure to unclassified material and thus potentially harmful content.
Over the past three months, the FPB’s Durban Compliance Monitoring team, with the assistance of the South African Police (SAPS) and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), conducted raids, ensured the closure of unlawful distributors (including street vendors) and confiscated illegal discs.
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The LEAs and SAPS assist the FPB in opening criminal cases and the prosecution of these unlawful distributors.
On September 27 the FPB Durban Office will be destroying close to 29 700 DVDs and CDs with 97 577 separate film titles seized during raids conducted in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mpumalanga and the Free State.
The street value of the seized DVDs and CDs is estimated at close to R10 million.
The discs earmarked for destruction are from evidence submitted during concluded court cases. Most of the confiscated material comes from Durban and consists of a large percentage of English titles from Hollywood, followed by local titles.
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The act of destruction is an important contributor to economic growth in South Africa for the following reasons, claimed Dr Maria Motebang, acting CEO of the FPB. “Clamping down on illicit trade, which contributes to a value chain of criminality; and simultaneously the act of destructing illicit material supports local content creators by ensuring that the potential economic outflow of their work is not lost to piracy.”
“The destruction process is conducted to prevent confiscated discs from finding their way back to the market. Most of the confiscated material was unclassified, making it illegal under the Films and Publications Act. In addition, some discs contained pornographic material, which were being sold on the streets and at taxi ranks. This carries the risk of exposing children to harmful content, ” said Motebang.
She continued, “The illegal distribution of discs impacts negatively on the film and creative industry as well as the economy of the country. Pirate peddlers steal intellectual property and consequently, steal revenue by depriving content creators of their royalties. Legal distributors lose their livelihood.”
The Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996 (amended), prohibits the distribution of unclassified films and games. The Act requires the classification decisions to be clearly and conspicuously displayed. Failure to do this could lead to imprisonment of up to 6 months, a fine or both.
The FPB values partnerships with various stakeholders in the industry as well as the general public to protect our children from viewing potentially harmful, disturbing or inappropriate material.
