| (1) | Any person may request, in the prescribed manner, that a publication, other than a publication that is published by a member of the Press Council of South Africa or an advertisement that falls under the jurisdiction of the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa, which is being distributed in the Republic, be classified in terms of this section. |
[Section 16(1) substituted by section 15(a) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022]
| (2) | Any person, except the publisher of a publication contemplated in subsection (1), who, for distribution or exhibition in the Republic creates, produces, publishes or advertises any publication that— |
[Words preceding paragraph (a) substituted by section 15(b) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022]
| (a) | [Section 16(2)(a) deleted by section 15(c) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022] |
| (b) | amounts to propaganda for war; |
| (c) | incites imminent violence; or |
shall submit, in the prescribed manner, such publication for examination and classification to the Board before such publication is distributed, exhibited, offered or advertised for distribution or exhibition.
[Section 16(2) substituted by section 15(f) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022]
| (3) | The Board shall refer any publication submitted to the Board in terms of subsection (1) or (2) to a classification committee for examination and classification of such publication: Provided that the classification committee must render a decisiokn as soon as is possible so as not to unreasonably delay the publication that has been referred to it for classification. |
[Section 16(3) proviso inserted by section 15(g) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022]
| (4) | The classification committee shall, in the prescribed manner, examine a publication referred to it and shall— |
| (a) | classify that publication as a "refused classification" if the publication contains— |
| (i) | child pornography, propaganda for war or incitement of imminent violence; or |
| (ii) | the advocacy of hatred based on any identifiable group characteristic and that constitutes incitement to cause harm, unless, judged within context, the publication is a bona fide documentary or is a publication of scientific, literary or artistic merit or is on a matter of public interest in which event the publication shall be classified with reference to the guidelines relating to the protection of children from exposure to disturing, harmful or age-inappropriate materials; |
[Section 16(4)(a)(ii) substituted by section 15(h) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022]
| (b) | classify the publication as "XX" if it contains— |
| (ii) | bestiality, incest, rape or conduct or an act which is degrading of human beings; |
| (iii) | [Section 16(4)(b)(iii) deleted by section 15(i) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022 - subsequent paragraphs have been renumbered] |
| (iv) | explicit visual presentations of extreme violence, |
unless, judged within context, the publication is a bona fide documentary or is a publication of scientific, literary or artistic merit or is on a matter of public interest, in which event the publication shall be classified with reference to the guidelines relating to the protection of children from exposure to disturbing, harmful or age-inappropriate materials;
[Section 16(4)(b) substituted by section 15(i) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022]
| (c) | classify the publication as "X18" if it contains explicit sexual conduct, unless, judged within context, the publication is a bona fide documentary or is a publication of scientific, literary or artistic merit or is on a matter of public interest, in which event the publication shall be classified with reference to the guidelines relating to the protection of children from exposure to disturbing, harmful and age-inappropriate materials; or |
[Section 16(4)(c) substituted by section 15(i) of Proc 52, GG 45959, dated 25 February 2022]
| (d) | if the publication contains material which may be disturbing or harmful to or age-inappropriate for children, classify that publication, with reference to the relevant guidelines, by the imposition of appropriate age-restrictions and such other conditions as may be necessary to protect children in the relevant age categories from exposure to such materials. |
| (5) | Where a publication has been classified as a "refused classification" or has been classified "XX" or "X18", the chief executive officer shall cause that classification decision to be published by notice in the Gazette, together with the reasons for the decision. |
| (6) | Where a publication submitted to the Board in terms of this section contains child pornography, the chief executive officer shall refer that publication to a police official of the South African Police Service for investigation and prosecution. |
[Section 16 substituted by section 19 of Notice No. 876, GG 32534, dated 28 August 2009]
