Disney and Netflix Could Pull Content If New Media Bill Passes
Disney and other streamers, like Netflix, are speaking out against a bill under debate in British Parliament, that would allow regulators to fine streamers who aren’t maintaining neutrality.
The bill stipulates that streamers must be impartial when portraying current events, especially ones that are politically sensitive and controversial.
Netflix Could Remove Content
Netflix, the country’s most popular streaming service, publically stated that they would remove content pre-emtively from their platform if the bill was passed.
“The range and variety of Netflix’s content, generally considered a strength of our offering in terms of maximizing choice for British viewers, could equally become a potential source of risk from a compliance perspective if it fell within [regulators’] remit,” Netflix said.“Without considerably greater clarity around the scope and application of these provisions, it would inevitably be easier to remove content pre-emptively from our U.K. catalog than risk an onerous compliance burden and potential liability.”
Disney Responds
While Netflix reigns supreme in United Kindom, Disney+ isn’t far behind. As such, The Walt Disney Company also opposed the bill.
“Given the differences between linear broadcasting and, the robust audience protection measures put in place by most VoD services, the varying consumer propositions and brand promises made by different VoD services, it seems inappropriate to apply uniform rules on all VoD services, whether that is strict content rules or mandated ratings,”
Steamers are essentially arguing that their content should be regulated differently from broadcast TV. The argument goes, because users have to seek out what content they want on streaming, the rules should be different.
While the U.K. Media Bill still has a ways to go before becoming law, if it does pass, it will be interesting to see how Disney and Netflix respond.
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