Last week South Africa’s Film and Publication Board (FPB) reportedly gave Netflix a
two-week ultimatum to comply with its regulations or face sanctions, but the FPB
have said no ultimatum was given.
Kenyan website Standard Digital reported that the FPB chief operating officer
Sipho Risiba had imposed licensing fees on Netflix and that the video-on-demand
provider had not yet paid.
Risiba allegedly made the remarks in Nairobi last week, where he signed a
memorandum of understanding with the Kenya Film Commission. The commission
had also sought to regulate Netflix in the Kenyan market.
According to Tech Central the FPB wants to regulate online content distributors, and is demanding a penalty fee of up to R795 000. However, it must first get the necessary legislative amendments passed by parliament as there is currently no definition for “online content distributor’ in the Films and Publications Act.
According to MyBroadband the FPB claimed it has not given Netflix an ultimatum of any kind, or threatened sanctions. The article stated that the FPB is in discussions with Netflix over the classification of its content, but that the dialogue has been amicable.
