UK Government Wants New Laws To Regulate Netflix, Prime, & Disney Plus

These new laws could be a game-changer.


The UK government wants new laws to regulate Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and other international streaming services.

Ministers at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport have announced that they will be drafting proposals to regulate Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and other international streaming services under UK broadcasting laws. Essentially, these laws would put them on the same level of regulation as the likes of the BBC, ITV, Sky, and Channel 4. Being regulated under British broadcasting laws would make giants like Netflix and Disney Plus have non-fictional content that is highly accurate and impartial, among other changes.

Polices and rules such as these fall under Ofcom, who hold British broadcasters to high standards. Essentially, services like Netflix and Prime Video would be considered British broadcasters, which in turn would make them follow the broadcasting rules that have been set up for the likes of the BBC and Channel 4. Deadline reports that ministers also want to “level the playing field so public service broadcasters can compete with international rivals”, though details are still slim on what this could mean. Some have hypothesized that advertisements for international streaming services will also be regulated, meaning that Netflix and Disney Plus can’t hold complete control over digital and physical billboards.

Streaming giants like Disney Plus and Amazon Prime are not regulated in most international territories as broadcasting laws tend to only discuss television and radio and in some cases the internet. However, with streaming quickly becoming the number one way to access content, governments around the world are attempting to regulate them, in the hopes that they don’t spread misinformation and aren’t given an unfair advantage over local services.

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Source: Deadline

Aahil Dayani

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