Film and Publication Board to destruct confiscated illegal dvd's in Midrand
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) in partnership with the South African Revenue Services (SARS) customs division, South African Police Services and the Ekurhuleni Metro Police will on Friday, 31 March destruct over 72 000 DVD's and CD's seized at raids conducted by the FPB. The street value of the seized DVD's and CD's is estimated at R 7.2 million.
The DVD's earmarked for destruction are from exhibits of concluded court cases. Raids were conducted by the Gauteng Compliance Monitoring team at the Komatipoort Border Post, Gauteng province and the North West province.
The destruction process is conducted purely to prevent the confiscated DVD's and CD's in finding their way back to the market. Most of the confiscated material was unclassified and contained pornographic material which were sold on the streets and taxi ranks, which carries the risk of exposing children to harmful material", says Mr. Mmbere Dzebu, FPB's Acting Chief Executive Officer.
He continues to say, "The impact of illegal distribution of DVD's and CD's is a scourge that negatively impacts on the industry as well as the economy of the country. Piracy peddlers steal intellectual property, they steal revenue due to destitute families by depriving them of royalties. People lose their jobs as more DVD shops close due to poor business."
The Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996, as amended (Act) prohibits the distribution of unclassified films and games. The Act further requires the classification decisions to be clearly and conspicuously displayed, the failure of which could render one liable upon prosecution to a period of imprisonment of up to 6 months , a fine or both.
The FPB values partnerships with various stakeholders in the industry including the general public in order to ensure the protection of children against the distribution or viewing of potential harmful, disturbing or inappropriate material.
The FPB is constantly conducting outreach and awareness campaigns with an intention to educate the public on, among other things, the significance of age ratings, a process informed by the classification process.
The FPB has also developed a training manual that is aimed at informing educators, who will in turn impart knowledge to the learners. By engaging in these efforts the ultimate aim of the FPB is to create a self regulating society that understands the impact of illegal distribution on the society and the country at large
Details of the destruction:
Time: 10h00
Venue: Document & Data Shredding Technologies, Unit 4, Stand 69 Capital Hill Office Park, Le Roux Avenue, Midrand
Should you wish to attend the destruction, please contact Elinah Morotolo on 012 003 1400 or email: elinah.morotolo@fpb.org.za
Notes to the editor
The objective of the Act of 1996 is to regulate the creation, production, possession and distribution of films, games and certain publications, and more recently certain online content.
This is done to provide consumer advice to enable adults to make informed viewing, reading and gaming choices for themselves and children in their care; to protect children from exposure to disturbing and harmful material and from premature exposure to adult experiences, and to make the use of children in, and the exposure of children to pornography, punishable.
