Russia continues its campaign against tech giant firms. Now, the Russian government is targetting online video/movie streaming services like Netflix, which are required to include state backed TV channels on their platforms.
According to The Moscow Times (Via 9To5Mac), the nation’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has just announced that it will mandate foreign streaming services to also offer 20 local federal television channels to their userbase. This regulation was first introduced back in late 2020 and is set to take effect starting from March 2022. So now, out of the 20 Russian government run channels, Netflix and other streaming services will also broadcast the nation’s flagship “Channel One,” alongside the Orthodox church channel “Spas”, and more.
Furthermore, the government also seeks to have its streaming service providers abide by local regulations and laws. In other words, these companies are not allowed to showcase movies that promote “extremism” or even LGBTQIA+ related content. Roskomnadzor even added that the laws also apply to all of these streaming services that regularly bring in more than 100,000 users daily. So, we can expect the changes to impact the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video among others.
The latest move from the government is also in line with its efforts to rein in tech giants. It had previously attempted to restrict the operations of foreign companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google, by requiring them to set up local offices within the country to prevent a possible ban on the firms. The iPhone maker even faced an antitrust case against its App Store, with the government demanding companies to offer third party payments options as well.
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