Press release issued by the ID on Sunday afternoon: De Lille calls on government to regulate MXIT and Internet blogging
De Lille's comments follow a surge in activity among young children on MXIT, which makes them vulnerable to sexual predators and paedophiles.
The ID leader says she has been ‘horrified to hear daily stories from people whose marriages have been destroyed and about children who are led into situations where they are molested by grown men, who use MXIT to lure these girls and boys into their traps.
‘We are already struggling to repair the social fabric of our society, and to tolerate a platform for this kind of sexual predation and deviance against our young children is inexcusable,' De Lille says.
The most recent MXIT crises is the circulation of pornographic images of young girls.
‘This has gone too far and it is time for Government to intervene to protect our most vulnerable. The right to freedom of expression is not absolute,' says De Lille.
Another worrying development in cyberspace is the abuse of blogging, which allows anonymous individuals to post slanderous and defamatory comments with impunity about anyone they choose, without the legal consequences they would face in other more reputable print and electronic media.
‘We recently came across a blog with slanderous comments about a famous rugby player, a respected reverend in the church and a prominent entertainer.
‘This blog also included one of our senior politicians, Councillor Simon Grindrod. He reported this matter to the Caledon Square police on Tuesday 15 May and they are currently investigating it,' De Lille says.
‘Because the problem is that we couldn't trace the author of the defamatory statements, we will also ask the NIA to investigate.
‘The reason why the ID cannot expose the website address and its content is we will then also be responsible for spreading the defamation and the slander against the reverend, the ex-Springbok rugby player, the entertainer and the ID politician, amongst others,' says De Lille.
‘Our legal team has advised us that in terms of the law anyone who republishes, reprints or rebroadcasts defamation of this nature published on any blogging website, is liable for civil and criminal action.
‘The only way to put a stop to this is to use every legal option to hold not only the website, but also the perpetrator, responsible. This kind of thing must not go unchallenged,' De Lille says.
