Netflix is facing demands from six Gulf States to remove content the states say “violates Islamic and societal values and principles.”
In a joint statement last week, a committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi General Commission for Audiovisual Media said Netflix would face legal action if it didn’t remove offensive content, but did not specify what content.
According to Arab News, the statement said the committee reached out to Netflix about removing the violating content as well as “content directed at children.”
It is likely the statement is a response to LGBTQ content on Netflix’s platform. Bloomberg reported there have been debates in the Gulf about content promoting homosexuality to children.
The six Gulf States in the council are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Al Ekhbariya, a Saudi state television channel, aired an interview with a behavioral and family consultant who said Netflix was an “official sponsor of homosexuality.”
“All legal measures will be taken to protect the Kingdom’s sovereignty, citizens and residents from any intellectual attack aimed at affecting its societies, values, safety of upbringing their generations and protecting them from harmful content,” Esra Assery, CEO of the Saudi commission, told Arab News.
Dr. Bilal Philips