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The New KAS-Study by legal and human rights experts Nicole Fritz and Justine Limpitlaw examines how South Africa can strengthen the accountability of digital platforms while safeguarding freedom of expression.
Published with the support of the KAS Media Programme Sub-Saharan Africa, “A South African Legal Framework to Govern Online Harm: What Might We Learn from the EU’s Digital Services Act?” considers how key principles of the European Union’s Digital Services Act could be adapted to South Africa’s constitutional, institutional and economic circumstances.
The authors argue that South Africa needs a fitting framework that holds digital platforms accountable for their local operations. Their proposed approach combines greater transparency, stronger user rights and independent oversight with obligations that reflect each platform’s size and influence. The largest platforms would face additional responsibilities to assess and address systemic risks such as disinformation, election interference, hate speech, gender-based online violence and threats to children.
Freedom of expression remains central to the recommendations. Fritz and Limpitlaw caution against regulations that could encourage excessive content removal. Instead, they propose transparent moderation processes, clear complaint and appeal mechanisms, explanations for platform decisions and safeguards against general monitoring or automatic takedowns.
The authors identify the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa as a possible lead supervisory authority, provided it receives adequate resources, investigative powers and the ability to impose meaningful penalties.Download the agenda: Press Release (6).pdf
