Extensive work has been done in this area.

SANEF’s media policy work aims to shape the future we want for the media in South Africa – particularly on issues related to freedom of expression and access to information. The key word to focus on is “open”: to campaign for #opengovernment, #opendata, #openbudget, #openjustice, #openregulation, #openelections, etc.

One of the biggest achievements of 2019 was progress with media efforts to establish access to the internet as a basic human right, with seven key initiatives:

• Implementation of government policy to provide free internet access at government sites such as schools and libraries;
• Zero-rated access to government websites and data, as envisaged in official e-government policies;
• Free wifi as a basic municipal service and run as a public utility alongside the provision of water and electricity;
• Minimum standards for free internet access, including for such offers by commercial operators;
• My i-Rights: every citizen should be entitled to a daily tranche of free internet access to exercise their digital access to information and online communication rights;
• Digital literacy programmes in education curricula; and
• Oversight by the SA Human Rights Commission on the progressive realisation of free internet access rights.

For more information on access to information and regulatory issues contact the committee chair:

Izak Minnaar – [email protected]