FPB enforcement committee issues R16,2 million in fines to unregistered distributors

The Film and Publication Board’s Enforcement Committee has imposed fines totalling R16 175 000 on distributors of films and games who failed to comply with the law. The fines range from R150 000 for distributing films or games in South Africa without being registered as a distributor, to R750 000 for distributing unclassified adult films or running adult premises without a licence.

The board is the state body responsible for classifying films, games and certain publications, and its Enforcement Committee is the instrument that punishes distributors who break the rules. The document does not name the individual companies fined or the number of cases behind the total, and those details are not in the record published by the South African Government.

What the fines are for

The two categories of penalty point to two distinct failures. The first is administrative. A distributor that puts films or games into the South African market without registering with the board is operating outside the system entirely. The second concerns adult content, where the law requires both classification and a licence to run adult premises. The R750 000 figure applies to the distribution of unclassified adult films and to the distribution of such films without the required licence.

The board has not said how many distributors were fined or whether any of the penalties are being contested. Those are questions the Enforcement Committee would have to answer, and the published record does not carry them.

Thirty years of content regulation

The fines come as the board prepares to mark 30 years of regulating content in South Africa. It will host an industry engagement session as part of the build-up to the anniversary, bringing together key stakeholders to reflect on how content has changed over three decades and to identify the regulatory challenges now emerging.

Advocate Makhosazana Lindhorst, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Film and Publication Board, has invited members of the media to a briefing where the evolution of content creation and regulation will be set out. The briefing is scheduled for 17 September at 08:00 for 08:30 at the Indaba Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre on Winnie Mandela Drive in Fourways.

Media wishing to attend can RSVP to manala.botolo@fpb.org.za. Ms Manala Botolo, Assistant Manager for Communications and Marketing, is the contact for media enquiries or interviews, on the same email address or on 082 860 6748.

What it means for the people who buy the content

The practical effect of the fines falls on the market itself. Classification exists so that a parent buying a game or a film knows what is inside it, and so that adult material is kept behind the checks the law requires. A distributor who skips registration or classification removes that protection from the shelf, whether the product is sold in a shop or streamed to a phone.

The R16,2 million total is the board’s own account of what its Enforcement Committee has imposed. It is a statement of penalties issued, not of money collected, and the record does not say how much has been paid.

The industry session and the media briefing on 17 September are the next dated steps, and they will be the board’s own account of where content regulation goes next.

Source: South African Government (www.gov.za), Film and Publication Board briefs media on evolution of content creation and regulation, 17 Sept. https://www.gov.za/news/media-advisories/media-briefings/film-and-publication-board-briefs-media-evolution-content