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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a petition oppose government plans to extend television license fees to streaming services like Netflix and Showmax.
In the Draft White Paper on the Audiovisual and Audio Content Services Policy Framework: A New Vision for South Africa 2020, the Department of Communications proposes to expand the definition of “broadcasting service” to include online broadcasting services.
This means that South Africans may have to pay more for their streaming services in the future, regardless of whether they watch it on a television, computer or phone.
Currently, the law states that consumers must pay a television license fee to view “streaming services,” which include subscription services like DSTV.
When you buy a TV, regardless of whether you watch SABC content on it or not, you must pay a license fee for “streaming services.”
In its current form, a “streaming service” is limited to content viewed on a television and excludes smartphones, tablets, and computers.
However, this may change if the proposal for the draft White Paper on the Policy Framework for Audiovisual and Audiovisual Content Services is accepted.
The district attorney strongly opposed the streaming services license fee, saying it is a covert attempt by the ANC to force South Africans to use their hard-earned money to bail out the SABC.
“It is ridiculous that the government wants to punish South Africans for using their hard-earned money to maintain an entity that the ANC, through its relentless political interference, destroyed,” said the prosecutor.
“The broadcaster must find creative ways to be self-sufficient and profitable without causing South Africans to shell out more money.”
The petition is available at DA website.
Scrap TV License Fees in South Africa – Outa
District Attorney Campaign Follows Organization Undo Fiscal Abuse (Outa) call to remove TV licenses completely.
Television licensing revenue fell 18% year-on-year to R791 million, which, according to the broadcaster, was due to the delay in using debt collection agencies in this period.
Rather than trying to improve television license collections, Outa said the system should be phased out entirely.
“The incompetence, mismanagement and corruption at SABC should not become a burden on successful private industries or South Africans,” he said.
“Any tax or levy that does not achieve its purpose due to failed administration or unenforceable mechanisms should be closed.”
He added that the proposed regulations have far-reaching implications for South Africans, including the fact that owning a smartphone or tablet would require them to have a television license.
Outa added that content on on-demand services such as Netflix would be regulated to ensure South African content has airtime or is blacklisted.
“This is a blatant refutation of freedom of choice, the democratization of information and universal access,” said Outa CEO Julius Kleynhans.
He added that however you look at it, citizens once again have to pay for the incompetence of the government and the inability to manage state companies like SABC.
“We fear that this will be another method of getting more money from citizens to finance the corrupt,” Kleynhans said.
Interview with DA’s Shadow Communications Minister Zakhele Mbhele
Now Read: Scrap TV License Fees in South Africa – Outa
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