South Africa’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies will convene a multi-stakeholder roundtable next week to explore how legislators, regulators and content creators can balance public-interest protections with support for a booming podcasting sector.
The meeting, scheduled for 24 March, comes as podcasting has rapidly expanded in South Africa, driven by rising smartphone penetration, wider internet access and a growing creator economy.
Podcasts have become a popular medium for news, culture and community-focused programming, opening space for diverse voices and languages while creating new opportunities for innovation and economic participation.
Committee chairperson Khusela Sangoni-Diko said the engagement is intended to provide a constructive platform for dialogue between parliamentarians, regulators, creators, platforms and civil society.
“Our intention is not to stifle creativity, but to ensure that as the sector grows, it does so within a framework that supports innovation, protects the public interest and expands participation in South Africa’s digital economy,” Sangoni-Diko said.
She noted that the roundtable will help clarify how public-interest safeguards can be balanced with the need to nurture a dynamic creative sector.
Participants will include representatives from government, regulators, independent podcasters, digital platforms, legal experts, civil society organisations and academic institutions.
Discussions are expected to cover how podcasts fit within existing legal frameworks, possible co-regulatory models, mechanisms for handling complaints and measures to expand opportunities for local creators.
JN/APA