The long-delayed British ‘online safety Bill’ seems to finally become law this year and that is not without consequences for streaming platforms. To avoid high fines, Netflix is now letting you know that it may be pre-emptively removing all “harmful” content from its platform in the UK.
According to the UK government, the legislation is an attempt to make the UK “the safest place in the world to be online”. It aims to do so by introducing a set of obligations for how large technology companies should design, operate and manage their platforms. As an example of how controversial the bill has become, some of the world’s largest online organizations, from WhatsApp to Wikipedia, pre-emptively refuse to comply with the potential requirements.
The ‘Online safety Bill’ requires online platforms to allow people to filter “offensive” content. For example, the law also introduces age verification for porn sites, criminalizes fraudulent advertising, and requires sites to consistently enforce their terms of service. If companies do not comply, they can be fined up to 18 million pounds or 10 percent of global sales. Also, their services can be blocked and their drivers face prison sentences.
INGSOC is here to stay
The bill forces streaming services such as Netflix to consider “impartiality” in the context of “current public policy” and in the context of “political or industrial controversy”. Netflix suggests that to avoid any violation of those guidelines, films, series and documentaries should be placed in a state of continuous review. Any content deemed “harmful” must be removed.
The streaming service made it clear that “without more clarity about the scope and application of these provisions, it would inevitably be easier to preventively remove content from our UK catalogue than to risk a heavy compliance burden and possible liability”.
