Netflix, Disney Protest New U.K. Law Targeting Streamers; Netflix Says it May Pull Content
Art imitates life, but a bill currently under debate in the British Parliament would make imitating life a bit more difficult for streaming services. According to an exclusive Deadline report, streamers like Netflix and Disney+ are protesting a bill in the United Kingdom 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 or controversial. In a letter to Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Netflix threatened that it might start preemptively pulling content if the bill becomes law and that its titles will be under a continuous state of review under the new rules.
“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. catalogue than risk an onerous compliance burden and potential liability.”
Netflix is the most in-demand streaming platform in the U.K., with an estimated 17 million subscribers in that country. Disney+ is the second most popular, and the House of Mouse also registered its concerns with the British government regarding the potential new law.
“Given the differences between linear broadcasting and [video on demand], 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,” Disney said.
Streamers are arguing that their content should be regulated differently from broadcast TV because users have to seek the content they want to watch out on a streaming service. That makes it harder to find content that regulators would take issue with, and should exempt them from having to follow rules they say are nebulous in the first place.
Netflix creates quite a bit of content in the U.K., so its concerns are at least partially justified. In 2022, 4.11% of all Netflix shows were produced in the United Kingdom, third behind only South Korea and the United States. Not all of these shows feature current, politically sensitive topics, but imprecise wording in the bill could lead to an overcorrection, which is why Netflix thinks it might be easier to just start pulling content preemptively.
The streaming industry has changed essentially everything about the way TV is made and distributed, and governments worldwide are starting to catch up. The Canadian government recently passed a law that requires streaming platforms to pay to support Canadian media content, like TV, movies, and music. It also requires streaming platforms to promote Canadian-made content in English, French, and Indigenous languages.
The U.K Media Bill that streamers find so objectionable has a few more steps to take before it officially becomes law. But if it does pass, Netflix users there might quickly find their favorite show or movie has disappeared, as the service might decide it’s simply not worth the risk of running afoul of British regulators.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.