Netflix Threatens To Purge Shows In UK To Avoid Falling Foul Of “Onerous” New Streamer Regulations

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has threatened to preemptively remove films and TV shows from its UK library to avoid falling foul of new streamer regulations being introduced by the British government.

Ministers in the UK want media regulator Ofcom to police streaming giants in a similar way to traditional broadcasters, meaning the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video could be fined up to £250,000 ($310,000) for carrying harmful content.

In a submission to UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Netflix took a swipe at plans to introduce “due impartiality” rules for streamers under the Media Bill, calling draft legislation “nebulous” and potentially “onerous” for services to enforce.

The Media Bill states that major streamers must consider impartiality in the context of contemporary events, pointing specifically to “current public policy” and matters of “political or industrial controversy.” Netflix said that staying on the right side of this rule would require it to keep its giant catalog of content under continual review, ensuring that it is “purging titles on a regular basis” regardless of when a show or film premiered. “The range and variety of Netflix’s content, generally considered a strength of our offering in terms of maximising choice for British viewers, could equally become a potential source of risk from a compliance perspective if it fell within Ofcom’s 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 UK catalogue than risk an onerous compliance burden and potential liability.” In its five-page document sent to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Netflix echoed