Deputy Home Affairs minister Malusi Gigaba wants a complete ban on digitally distributed porn.

Ggaba has approached the country's Law Reform Commission to ask whether a change in the law is possible. The BBC reports he has also had talks with the Justice Alliance for South Africa (JASA), a respected group which has written its own draft bill on the issue.

The BBC says Internet security experts have dismissed the idea as "madness".

Gigaba says "Cars are already provided with brakes and seatbelts... There is no reason why the internet should be provided without the necessary restrictive mechanisms built into it".

JASA proposes that the ban, covering TV but also mobile phones and the web, could be implemented in the form of filters set by internet service providers.

Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos said previous attempts by other nations to ban pornography had not been successful.

"One wonders how on earth a democracy like South Africa would be able to introduce such a system, as it's not as though the state has 100% control over telecommunications," he told BBC News.