UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
School of Law Faculty of Law
⋆
COMMUNICATION LAW
CML1501
Assignment 2
Semester 1 Due Date: 31 March 2026
⋆
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
DOCUMENT DETAILS
Module Code CML1501
Module Title Communication Law
Assignment Assignment 2
Semester Semester 1, 2026
Due Date 31 March 2026
Total Marks 80
Faculty School of Law
Institution University of South Africa (UNISA)
⋄
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the academic requirements at UNISA
Page 2 of 25
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
Contents
1 Question 1 POPI Act: Exceptions for Processing Children's Personal Information [10
marks] 6
1.1 1.1 Background: The POPI Act and Children's Personal Information . . . . . . 6
1.2 1.2 Exceptions to the Prohibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.1 1.2.1 Consent by a Competent Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.2 1.2.2 Processing Necessary to Establish, Exercise or Defend a Right or Obli-
gation in Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.3 1.2.3 Processing Necessary to Comply with an Obligation of International
Public Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.4 1.2.4 Processing for Historical, Statistical or Research Purposes . . . . . 7
1.2.5 1.2.5 Information Deliberately Made Public by the Child or Competent Per-
son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 1.3 Summary Table of Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Question 2 Print Media SA v DHA: Constitutional Court Declarations on the Films
and Publications Act [20 marks] 9
2.1 2.1 Introduction to the Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 2.2 The Provisions Under Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 2.3 The Court's Declaration on Section 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4 2.4 The Exemption Under Section 16 and the Court's Treatment of It . . . . . . 10
2.5 2.5 The Declaration on Section 16(2)(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 2.6 The Declaration on Section 24A(2)(a) and Its Exemption . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.7 2.7 Signi
cance of the Judgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Question 3 Qualities of Members of the SABC Board [10 marks] 13
3.1 3.1 Introduction: The SABC Board in Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Page 3 of 25
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
3.2 3.2 Statutory Qualities Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2.1 3.2.1 Personal Integrity and Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2.2 3.2.2 Expertise and Representativeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2.3 3.2.3 Citizenship and Residency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3 3.3 Disquali
cations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4 Question 4 The Three-Tier Broadcasting Framework under the Electronic Communi-
cations Act [20
marks] 15
4.1 4.1 Introduction: Legislative Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2 4.2 Tier One: Public Broadcasting Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2.1 4.2.1 De
nition and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2.2 4.2.2 Obligations and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2.3 4.2.3 Funding Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3 4.3 Tier Two: Commercial Broadcasting Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3.1 4.3.1 De
nition and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3.2 4.3.2 Obligations and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3.3 4.3.3 Funding Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4 4.4 Tier Three: Community Broadcasting Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4.1 4.4.1 De
nition and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4.2 4.4.2 Obligations and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4.3 4.4.3 Funding Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.5 4.5 Comparative Overview of the Three Tiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5 Question 5 The Press Council of South Africa and the Press Ombud [20 marks] 20
5.1 5(a) Powers and Functions of the Press Council of South Africa . . . . . . . . . 20
5.1.1 5(a).1 Introduction: The PCSA as a Self-Regulatory Body . . . . . . . . 20
Page 4 of 25
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
5.1.2 5(a).2 Powers of the Press Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.1.3 5(a).3 Functions of the Press Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.2 5(b) Functions of the Press Ombud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.2.1 5(b).1 The Press Ombud's Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.2.2 5(b).2 Speci
c Functions of the Press Ombud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Reference List 24
Page 5 of 25
, UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
Question 1 POPI Act: Exceptions for Processing Children's Personal Information [10
marks]
1.1 Background: The POPI Act and Children's Personal Information
The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) sets out conditions that a re-
sponsible party must satisfy before it may lawfully process personal information. Where the
data subject is a child, the Act imposes a notably higher threshold because children are con-
sidered a vulnerable category deserving special protection (South Africa, 2013, s. 34).
Section 34(1) of POPIA states plainly that a responsible party may not process personal in-
formation concerning a child. The word child is de
ned in section 1 as a person under the
age of 18 years who is not legally competent to contract on his or her own behalf without as-
sistance of a competent person. This categorical prohibition is the starting point, but it is not
absolute.
Critical Consideration
The prohibition on processing children's personal information is one of the strongest
protections in POPIA. Any departure from it must
t squarely within a listed excep-
tion. Processing that does not fall within an exception is unlawful, regardless of the
responsible party's intent or the apparent bene
t to the child (Roos, 2021).
1.2 Exceptions to the Prohibition
Section 35 of POPIA provides the exceptions under which a responsible party may, despite
section 34(1), lawfully process the personal information of a child. These exceptions are nar-
row and must be read strictly (Mfayela, 2022).
1.2.1 Consent by a Competent Person
The
rst and most commonly used exception allows processing where a competent person has
consented to the processing. A competent person means any person who is legally competent
to consent to any action or decision being taken in respect of any matter concerning a child
(South Africa, 2013, s. 1). In practice, this is the child's parent or legal guardian.
For example, a school that creates digital learner pro
les, which would constitute processing
Page 6 of 25
School of Law Faculty of Law
⋆
COMMUNICATION LAW
CML1501
Assignment 2
Semester 1 Due Date: 31 March 2026
⋆
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
DOCUMENT DETAILS
Module Code CML1501
Module Title Communication Law
Assignment Assignment 2
Semester Semester 1, 2026
Due Date 31 March 2026
Total Marks 80
Faculty School of Law
Institution University of South Africa (UNISA)
⋄
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the academic requirements at UNISA
Page 2 of 25
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
Contents
1 Question 1 POPI Act: Exceptions for Processing Children's Personal Information [10
marks] 6
1.1 1.1 Background: The POPI Act and Children's Personal Information . . . . . . 6
1.2 1.2 Exceptions to the Prohibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.1 1.2.1 Consent by a Competent Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.2 1.2.2 Processing Necessary to Establish, Exercise or Defend a Right or Obli-
gation in Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.3 1.2.3 Processing Necessary to Comply with an Obligation of International
Public Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.4 1.2.4 Processing for Historical, Statistical or Research Purposes . . . . . 7
1.2.5 1.2.5 Information Deliberately Made Public by the Child or Competent Per-
son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 1.3 Summary Table of Exceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Question 2 Print Media SA v DHA: Constitutional Court Declarations on the Films
and Publications Act [20 marks] 9
2.1 2.1 Introduction to the Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 2.2 The Provisions Under Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 2.3 The Court's Declaration on Section 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4 2.4 The Exemption Under Section 16 and the Court's Treatment of It . . . . . . 10
2.5 2.5 The Declaration on Section 16(2)(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.6 2.6 The Declaration on Section 24A(2)(a) and Its Exemption . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.7 2.7 Signi
cance of the Judgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Question 3 Qualities of Members of the SABC Board [10 marks] 13
3.1 3.1 Introduction: The SABC Board in Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Page 3 of 25
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
3.2 3.2 Statutory Qualities Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2.1 3.2.1 Personal Integrity and Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2.2 3.2.2 Expertise and Representativeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2.3 3.2.3 Citizenship and Residency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3 3.3 Disquali
cations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4 Question 4 The Three-Tier Broadcasting Framework under the Electronic Communi-
cations Act [20
marks] 15
4.1 4.1 Introduction: Legislative Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2 4.2 Tier One: Public Broadcasting Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2.1 4.2.1 De
nition and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2.2 4.2.2 Obligations and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.2.3 4.2.3 Funding Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3 4.3 Tier Two: Commercial Broadcasting Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3.1 4.3.1 De
nition and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3.2 4.3.2 Obligations and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.3.3 4.3.3 Funding Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4 4.4 Tier Three: Community Broadcasting Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4.1 4.4.1 De
nition and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4.2 4.4.2 Obligations and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4.3 4.4.3 Funding Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.5 4.5 Comparative Overview of the Three Tiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5 Question 5 The Press Council of South Africa and the Press Ombud [20 marks] 20
5.1 5(a) Powers and Functions of the Press Council of South Africa . . . . . . . . . 20
5.1.1 5(a).1 Introduction: The PCSA as a Self-Regulatory Body . . . . . . . . 20
Page 4 of 25
,UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
5.1.2 5(a).2 Powers of the Press Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.1.3 5(a).3 Functions of the Press Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.2 5(b) Functions of the Press Ombud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.2.1 5(b).1 The Press Ombud's Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.2.2 5(b).2 Speci
c Functions of the Press Ombud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Reference List 24
Page 5 of 25
, UNISA | CML1501 Communication Law Assignment 2 Semester 1, 2026
Question 1 POPI Act: Exceptions for Processing Children's Personal Information [10
marks]
1.1 Background: The POPI Act and Children's Personal Information
The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) sets out conditions that a re-
sponsible party must satisfy before it may lawfully process personal information. Where the
data subject is a child, the Act imposes a notably higher threshold because children are con-
sidered a vulnerable category deserving special protection (South Africa, 2013, s. 34).
Section 34(1) of POPIA states plainly that a responsible party may not process personal in-
formation concerning a child. The word child is de
ned in section 1 as a person under the
age of 18 years who is not legally competent to contract on his or her own behalf without as-
sistance of a competent person. This categorical prohibition is the starting point, but it is not
absolute.
Critical Consideration
The prohibition on processing children's personal information is one of the strongest
protections in POPIA. Any departure from it must
t squarely within a listed excep-
tion. Processing that does not fall within an exception is unlawful, regardless of the
responsible party's intent or the apparent bene
t to the child (Roos, 2021).
1.2 Exceptions to the Prohibition
Section 35 of POPIA provides the exceptions under which a responsible party may, despite
section 34(1), lawfully process the personal information of a child. These exceptions are nar-
row and must be read strictly (Mfayela, 2022).
1.2.1 Consent by a Competent Person
The
rst and most commonly used exception allows processing where a competent person has
consented to the processing. A competent person means any person who is legally competent
to consent to any action or decision being taken in respect of any matter concerning a child
(South Africa, 2013, s. 1). In practice, this is the child's parent or legal guardian.
For example, a school that creates digital learner pro
les, which would constitute processing
Page 6 of 25
