Media Monitoring Africa (“MMA”) provides this submission on the Draft Films and Publications Amendment Regulations, 2020 (“the Draft Regulations”), in response to the call for submissions published by the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies (“the Minister”). The Draft Regulations raise issues on which MMA has been consistently engaged, including through the following work:

1.1.  In April 2016, MMA hosted a multi-stakeholder workshop focused on the regulation of digital content. Through this workshop, one of the core aims was to deepen an understanding of the issues by and between the relevant stakeholders, and further establish areas of commonality and principle agreement.

1.2.  In May 2016, MMA prepared a written submission on the Films and Publications

Accordingly, MMA notes that the Draft Regulations have the potential to contribute positively towards overcoming the uneven distribution of accessing various services, and thereby to ensure that persons with disabilities have meaningful access to information. The importance of promoting access to broadcasting and electronic communication services for persons with disabilities cannot be gainsaid given the array of opportunities and benefits that come with accessing such services.