The online streaming platform Netflix has removed movies and TV shows from its global platform after demands came in from foreign governments. The majority of these demands came in from the Singapore government.
The media streaming platform revealed in details in its first report which is named "Environmental Social Governance" which according to Netflix will offer more transparency on the impact of its platform on the society and its governance structures, as per the reports of ZDNet on Sunday. The takedowns all took place between 2015 and 2020.
Netflix released its 'Environmental Social Governance' report
The streaming giant said in its report: "We offer creators the ability to reach audiences all around the world. However, our catalogue varies from country to country, including for [broadcasting] rights reasons [and] in some cases, we've been forced to remove specific titles or episodes of titles in specific countries due to government takedown demands." It is pertinent to note that government takedowns aren't new phenomena for online media platforms.
Facebook, Apple, Twitter, YouTube, and even Wikipedia often receive and comply with requests from government bodies to remove content from its platforms in those countries. The reasons for such requests often range from local laws banning certain kinds of content to the publishing of unauthorised material to straight-up attempts of censorship, according to Mashable.
