Following up on the discovery that its website is blocked to journalists at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), SW Radio Africa reports that it has talked to Fakir Hassen who works in the IT division of the SABC. He confirmed that SABC has what he called “control measures” in place that restrict access to pornography, downloading large files and audio streaming. He stressed that it had nothing to do with censuring any radio station. Regarding written stories Hassen said: “There is no problem in accessing a website that is purely word in content, if you will. When it comes to audio downloads etcetera, there are restrictions there.”
But SW Radio Africa asked several employees at SABC, in different departments, to try and access some websites that have audio streaming, and they reported that the sites opened without a problem and allowed them to read the text. It is when they wanted to open the streaming that they were blocked. Among the sites tested were South Africa’s Radio 702, Radio Veritas, Afrosounds FM and several websites that cover Zimbabwe. SW Radio Africa says this indicates that there is a different reason for the blocking of its website.
It is not just the audio streaming that is blocked but the entire site, so not even the text can be read. Asked to comment on this Hassen said: “We are not sure exactly what is going on. The guys in that department are not available. Let’s wait for the experts to let us know.” SW Radio Africa says it will continue to investigate this issue to determine exactly what is going on.
(Source: SW Radio Africa/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)