CASE NO: 08/2010 – BARRETT VS MULTICHOICE CHANNEL 126 – SIMULATED SEX

This complaint deals with a scene of simulated sex with a goat by a human that was broadcast by a subscription broadcasting service licensee. The applicable clause (clause 9) of Code of Conduct prohibits the broadcasting of scenes of, inter alia, bestiality.  Clause 9 prohibits broadcasters from “knowingly” broadcasting such scenes.  The broadcaster explained that it had bought the channel and that it did not knowingly broadcast the scene complained of because it merely relayed the signal it received from the overseas broadcaster to its subscribers and was not aware of the exact content of the broadcast. The Tribunal accepted the broadcaster’s explanation and found no contravention of the Code although it expressed frustration with the powerless position in which this left the Tribunal.