The Protection of Information Bill is a new piece of legislation currently being deliberated by parliament. Already there are many voices of opposition to this bill, specifically from the South Africa media as a bill of this nature effectively gives the ruling party the power to deem anything they like "unfit" for public consumption. What's striking though is the fact that, once again,  few (if any at all) normal citizens have written any comments of opposition. Like with other legislation ushered through parliament in recent years, the general public do diddly squat when they have a chance to oppose or comment and then once the bill is passed and it starts affecting their lives then they start complaining.

More South African's need to download, read and write comments to this piece of legislation. Do NOT leave it up to a few people who are not paid, overworked and stressed to deal with all this stuff. Get out of your armchair and do something for the greater good.

The document can be accessed here (PDF)

You can download the hearings here:

Protection of Information Bill [B6-2010]: Public hearings

Protection of Information Bill [B6-2010] Public hearings day 2

Read what's been said about it so far:

Information Bill like 'apartheid-era legislation':
"Sections of the government's proposed protection of information legislation are reminiscent of apartheid-era secrecy laws, according to an intelligence expert. They also displayed a fundamental misunderstanding of the Constitution, Dr Laurie Nathan said in a submission to Parliament's ad-hoc committee on the Protection of Information Bill." full article

The  Protection of Information Bill  causes protests in South Africa:
"As the excitement of the World Cup dies down, the South African media fades back into the familiar territory of fighting for freedom of speech. The African National Congress (ANC) is currently in the process of passing a couple of new pieces of legislation which appear antithetical to freedom of the press. The first being the Protection of Information Bill, in which there are relatively low standards for protecting what journalist are allowed to publish. Information such as commercial governmental contracts, state-owned enterprise and state entities are considered classified under the Protection of information. If the bill passes, journalist who violate the this law could spend up to 25 years in jail. The second is the announcement that a "media tribunal" will oversee the general media to stop "unfair" criticism." full article

Protection of Information Bill threatens media freedom:
"PRETORIA, South Africa, July 23, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Lawmakers were warned again on 22 July 2010 that the Protection of Information Bill would not survive Constitutional Court scrutiny because it rides roughshod over media freedom and the democratic values of transparency and accountability. Dario Milo, a partner at Webber Wentzel law firm, making a presentation on behalf of Print Media South Africa, said during his address to the Parliamentary committee that the bill which is meant to replace an apartheid-era law dating from 1982 could see investigative journalists face up to 25 years in jail for publishing information of public interest." full article

Protection of Information Bill, a story about a special kind of divorce:
"As any divorcee will tell you, falling out of love sucks. You understand that life as you know it is about to come to an end. It is how most journalists feel when they read the proposed Protection of Information Bill. So we have to ask, how did it come to this? How did it happen? The fact is that many journalists will tell you it’s come as quite a surprise to find that this draft is so much worse, so much more draconian than the one that emerged during the Mbeki era. Since Polokwane, there’s been much more political openness, much more of a role for the press, and simply much more interaction between the media and politicians. President Jacob Zuma’s ANC administration has been about charming the pants off the media, rather than trying to shut it up. Think of Mathews Phosa vs Mendi Msimang, or Gwede Mantashe as opposed to Kgalema Motlanthe as the secretary general. When it comes to media profile, there’s no contest, the new guys were happier to be in the spotlight. Even Zuma himself, despite his rather rough ride over his legal difficulties, has worked pretty hard at it." full article