Wireless applications service providers (WASPs) supplying adult content for cellphones are technically operating illegally, says the Film and Publications Board (FPB).
FPB head of legal services Iyavar Chetty says no WASPs have registered with the board as required to do so in terms of the Film and Publications Act.
Chetty says this is required as the definition of film within the Act is wide and includes the transmission of pictures, whether moving or still, over an electronic medium, such as used with cellphones.
"This means they have to register with the board and so far no supplier of adult content over cellphones has done so," he says.
Pornography, especially where minors have easy access to it, has become a big issue, with members of Parliament discussing it during the public hearings into the Convergence Bill.
The use of cellphones for the sale and distribution of adult content has spawned a multimillion-rand industry with an unknown number of content providers. Its growth has had a knock-on impact on TV advertising, boosting the revenues of some commercial stations.
Chetty says the FPB is setting up meetings with relevant organisations, including the Internet Service Providers` Association and the Wireless Applications Service Providers` Association (WASPA), to settle the matter.
However, the industry is in a particularly vulnerable position as Chetty says any private person could now place a complaint with the SA Police Service and get an order to stop the distribution of adult content.
"The FPB`s policy is to find a way in which we can work with the industry rather than adopt a heavy-handed approach," Chetty says.
WASPA chairman Leon Perlman says his association is aware of the matter and is planning to have a meeting with the FPB in September.
The cellphone network operators had not commented on the issue by the time of publication.
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