IPI believes that any Media Appeals Tribunal will not be independent. If the MAT is appointed by parliament, it will face an inherent conflict of interest that will skew its rulings in favour of public and party officials and essentially amount to government oversight of the media—which is unacceptable .... [T]he [Protection of Information] Bill provides for a very low threshold for the classification of information, but at the same time imposes draconian penalties on those who reveal that information—without providing for a public interest defense ... an unfair penalty system that encourages secrecy and could lead to the erosion of investigative journalism.

On Sunday, a group of South African journalists expressed disdain [statement; JURIST report] for the proposed regulations, claiming they will inhibit freedom of expression. This is not the first sign of tension between the ANC and the South African media. Recently, there have been many reports on Zuma's lavish spending on luxury vehicles. In 2005, the Johannesburg High Court banned the release [JURIST report] of a newspaper article revealing a corruption scandal involving the nation's ruling ANC, requiring South Africa's leading independent newspaper, the Mail and Guardian [media website] to prevent the distribution of its entire 45,000 issue run.