Debate rages in Ghana over porn on TV

George Sarpong

Ghana’s broadcasting watchdog is looking into whether some TV channels have breached regulations by showing what has been described as pornographic content.

The films shown by a number of free-to-air channels in Ghana after 9pm have sparked a big debate.

Two radio personalities have lodged a complaint with the National Media Commission saying that after “painstaking monitoring” they concluded that the TV stations broke broadcasting guidelines.

In their letter, published by Joy FM, they quote a section of the guidelines saying that programmes should not offend the “moral dignity… of the audience”.

The executive secretary of the regulatory body, George Sarpong, told BBC Focus on Africa that there was “no specific law” banning the broadcasting of pornography.

But he said that the National Media Commission is looking at more than the precise laws but also “what constitutes our collective sense of morality”.

*BBC