Netflix Told by Gulf States to Drop Videos Violating Islam
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Six Gulf Arab states have told streaming service company Netflix Inc. to stop broadcasting material that they said violates the region’s Islamic values, and threatened legal action if the firm didn’t act.
The countries said some Netflix content “contradicts Islamic and societal values and principles,” adding they had contacted the US-based company to drop the offending material. They didn’t specify which content had caused the issue.
The move comes after a debate on social media and television in the Gulf about content for children which was said to promote homosexuality.
“In the event of continued broadcasting of infringing content, the necessary legal measures will be taken,” a statement from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said on Tuesday. Attempts to contact regional representatives for Netflix for comment weren’t immediately successful.
Ekhbariya, a Saudi TV channel, ran a recent interview with a behavioral and family consultant who decried what she said was Netflix’s promotion of homosexuality to children.
In a tweet, Ekhbariya displayed clips of a recently released season of the animated series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, where two female characters kiss in one of the episodes.
Homosexuality is prohibited in Islam and same-sex activity is criminalized in Gulf countries.
Habib Al Mulla, a prominent lawyer in the United Arab Emirates, praised his country’s telecommunications authority for its separate announcement on the GCC move.
The Gulf bloc, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, hosts a predominantly Muslim population.
(Updates with tweet details in sixth paragraph.)
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