The Gulf countries on September 7 called on the Netflix platform to remove content deemed offensive to “Islamic and societal values” in the region.
This came in a joint statement by the General Authority for Audiovisual Media and the Committee of Electronic Media Officials in the six countries of the Cooperation Council— Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman and Bahrain.
The United Arab Emirates’ Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority issued a similar statement today, referring to content that is allegedly not in accordance Emirati law as well as inappropriate for children. The Saudi government also reportedly reportedly released its own statement on the matter.
A statement issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council, headquartered in Riyadh, stated that the committee of electronic media officials in the countries of the Council held a meeting to discuss “what was observed in the recent period of the Netflix platform broadcasting some visual materials and content that violates the controls of media content in the GCC countries, which contradicts Islamic and societal principles.”
Thd statement added that “Netflix has been contacted to remove this content, including content directed at children, and to comply with the regulations.”
Netflix already censors some of its content related to the LGBTQ community. For example, Netflix’s LGBTQ page is accessible in the United States but not in some Middle Eastern states.
The statement states that the concerned authorities will follow up on the extent of their commitment, and in the event that the infringing content continues to be broadcast, the necessary legal measures will be taken.
The General Authority for Audiovisual Media in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirmed the demand of the Netflix platform to remove the offending content and indicated that the statement of the Committee of Electronic Media Officials, is mutual.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Media Regulatory Office of the United Arab Emirates issued a similar statement, referring to contacting Netflix to remove the offending content, especially content directed at children.
