Legal News South Africa

No porn for TopTV without Icasa's permission - court

Channel24 reports that the High Court in Johannesburg ruled on Monday, 16 January 2012, that TopTV may not broadcast pornography channels without the permission of the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). The pay channel applied to Icasa in September for permission to flight three porn channels and, when it received no response after two months, it decided to go ahead without Icasa's decision.

Icasa then made an urgent application to the high court to halt the move until January 31, when it would give its decision. TopTV is owned by On Digital Media.

According to Times Live, before the court application was heard, subscription channel TopTV said it is determined to launch its three 24-hour porn channels in spite of court action to stop it. Spokesman Melinda Connor said that plans were in place to launch the porn channels. "The channels were to have been launched in December but management decided to postpone it. The launch will now be on January 20," Connor said.

African Christian Democratic Party president Kenneth Meshoe told Times Live Online that porn channels were not contributing to "the new South Africa". He accused TopTV of not caring about the values of South African society. The Family Policy Institute said: "If TopTV succeeds in launching porn channels in South Africa, it will open the floodgates for broadcasters to open the sewers and release a flood of filth into our communities."

Read the full article on www.channel24.co.za.
Read the full article on www.timeslive.co.za.

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