THE OPEN CHAT PODCAST CONTROVERSY: Why South Africa urgently needs digital media regulation within a human rights framework
By Zandisile Luphahla:
The author argues that recent incidents like the Open Chat Podcast controversy demonstrate the urgent need for comprehensive digital media regulation within a human rights framework in South Africa.
The recent uproar over derogatory remarks about coloured people on the Open Chat podcast has once again exposed the glaring gaps in South Africa's digital media regulation. This incident, like many before it, demonstrates why we can no longer afford to treat the digital realm as an unregulated wild west where harmful content spreads unchecked.
With opposition parties and government now joining the debate over these apparent racial slurs, the time for action has never been more urgent.
The digital transformation and its...