Johannesburg, 16 Jul 2008
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) has launched an anti-child pornography and sexual abuse Web site.
FPB was established by Parliament, under the control of the Department of Home Affairs, to regulate distribution of films and publication with the aim of protecting children from exposure to inappropriate material.
The Internet hotline (www.fpbprochild.org.za) is a confidential facility that allows members of the public to report, in complete anonymity, any child pornography or sexual abuse images discovered accidentally on the Internet. The service is the first of its kind in Africa.
Once a report is submitted via the Web site, the Report Management System (RMS), developed by ePages.net in association with FPB, logs the report and automatically creates and assigns the "case" to a queuing system. The custom developed solution then informs the dedicated FPB team members that a case has been created.
The case is then picked up by an Internet content analyst who will assess the reported content and take the appropriate action. The system allows for the extraction of all relevant data which can then be forwarded to the law enforcement agencies for further action. The offending Web site can then be tagged for removal and/or blocking.
The Report Management System provides for the monitoring of the status of all cases, whether open or closed, as well as the extraction of data for statistical purposes.
In the instance of a foreign-based Web site being reported, FPB's international networking and partnerships with INHOPE (the International Association of Internet Hotlines) allows them to take action against child pornography on the Internet hosted outside South Africa. These international networks will then pass the reports to the appropriate local law enforcement agencies.
The nature of the information captured within a case, is structured in such a way as to ensure maximum compatibility with the information required by the various law enforcement agencies. This was an important consideration when developing the solution in order to maximise the chances of a successful prosecution.
ePages.net was chosen by FPB to develop the Web site and RMS after an extensive selection process. Loyal Ndwandwe, managing director of ePages.net, said: "We were delighted that FPB saw fit to place their trust in ePages.net to deliver such a critically important system within the defined timescales."
Ndwandwe continued: "During the 14 years of our existence we have been involved with numerous development projects for some of South Africa's leading commercial enterprises. However, every so often the opportunity presents itself to take part in a project that can directly affect the lives of our most vulnerable citizens."
David Meyrick, ePages.net's sales director, added: "We are truly honoured to be involved with such a worthy cause. When we first became aware of the initiative, we decided that we would pull out all the stops to get involved with the project.
"The whole process has been one of a partnership approach. By adopting an agile methodology, we were able to accommodate the inevitable changes to the original specification right up to the final few days before the Web site went live.
"We look forward to continuing our close relationship with FPB to refine the system and build in the additional functionality that will make www.fpbprochild.org.za among the best in the world."
Goodness Dlamini, Head of the Child Protection Unit at FPB, commented: "The Film and Publication Board would like to thank ePages for the good work that they have done regarding the development of the Web site which went live, successfully, on the set date. We would also like to thank them for the extended hand they provided our organisation with regards other relevant IT matters."
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