Ofcom to regulate streaming services in same way as BBC
Streaming services including Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime will be regulated by Ofcom in the same way as the BBC and ITV, under plans announced by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.
The move would allow the media regulator to adjudicate over complaints about bias, accuracy and offence in shows screened by on-demand platforms.
Netflix, which has more than ten million subscribers in the UK, is currently outside of Ofcom’s scope because the company is based in the Netherlands and subject to Dutch regulation.
Last year Mr Dowden demanded that Netflix put a disclaimer on its hit drama The Crown, to make clear that its invented scenes were “fiction”.
The Netflix documentary Seaspiracy about the impact of commercial fishing, accused
by experts of including “misleading claims”, could be investigated under the new rules.
Ministers want to curb the power of the tech giants, with their huge programming budgets, to help British broadcasters compete on a levelplaying field. The Government will also call on the streamers to introduce more consistent age r atings.
“The current landscape makes for an inconsistent, ad-hoc and potentially harmful gap in regulation between video-on-demand services alongside a potential competitive disadvantage between UK broadcasters and their internationally-funded online counterparts,” the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said.
Ministers will ensure that the UK’S public service broadcasters will be given prominence on Smart TVS, so that viewers can find their catch-up services alongside the likes of Apple and Amazon Prime.
The move came as Mr Dowden confirmed the Government’s intention to sell off the state-owned, commerciallyfunded broadcaster Channel 4.
The station’s boss Alex Mahon warned privatisation could do “irreversible damage” to the broadcaster’s mission to provide distinctive programming and support the UK’S creative industries. Mr Mahon said the broadcaster would face pressure to cut its regional investment and nightly news commitment .