Opposition to the Film and Publication Board’s (FPB) draft Online Regulation Policy “has been overwhelming”‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA) said. The 90-day period for public comment on rules which would require those who upload digital content to register with the FPB‚ and either submit content to it for classification or self-classify in accordance with its guidelines closed on Wednesday.Failure to do so could result in a fine or prison sentence of up to six months.The DA’s shadow minister of communications‚ Gavin Davis‚ listed four major “legitimate concerns” about the policy:The broadness of terms used in it “gives the government significant latitude to proscribe content that does not fit in with the governing party’s political agenda and worldview”;As “the policy appears to apply to any person who uploads online content”‚ it “opens the door for the state to impinge on citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of expression and to impart information”;It places “an unnecessary administrative and financial burden on individuals and organisations who upload content” as “they will be required to pay a registration fee‚ appoint staff as classifiers and be forced to delay the publication of content until the pre-classification is complete”; andNon-compliance “by many individuals and organisations” would make it impossible for the FPB “to monitor and police all content uploaded”.Davis‚ however‚ applauded FPB’s “stated intention for drafting this policy to protect children from exposure to harmful online content”‚ and said that while it “is a noble objective…it is highly unlikely that the draft policy will achieve this goal”.“It is simply too impractical and costly to implement and police‚” he said.A potential danger of the policy‚ Davis argued‚ was that it “could be used selectively to censor particular online content that the governing party does not like or runs counter to its political objectives”. “The governing party is clearly aware that more and more people are accessing online content through cheaper mobile platforms and broadband.“It therefore has a real interest in ensuring that the euphemistically termed ‘happy news’ broadcast on SABC TV and radio is not contradicted by alternative information available on online platforms.”He said he had written to the chairperson of Parliament’s Communications Portfolio Committee to ask communications minister Faith Muthambi and the FPB to appear before it to address these and other concerns...