The UK government has streaming services in its sights. A white paper says Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and others will have to comply with the new rules in the UK. It is Ofcom, the telecom authority in the country, that will be looking after this file.
New UK rules for streaming services
As of today, Ofcom mainly deals with television channels. But as streaming services keep getting bigger and bigger, it’s of interest for the authority to start regulating it in its own way.
The changes require the Services to ensure that their viewers are protected from harmful or objectionable content, and that the principles of fairness, accuracy, and confidentiality all apply. The white paper outlines potential fines for code violations, with the potential to pay up to £250,000 (€298,219) for services, or 5% of the company’s revenue.
UK TV channels for streaming services have been promoting for a while now to have similar rules to them. So it is a win for these channels.
What are the platforms saying? Netflix has reacted and doesn’t appear to be bothered by the changes. “We look forward to reviewing other proposals in the white paper and engaging with the government on their plans”, he says. Apple, Disney and Amazon have not disclosed anything publicly.
