RIYADH —
Gulf countries Tuesday threatened
Netflix with legal action for broadcasting
content that “contradicts” Islam, and Saudi state media indicated that the
offending material centered on shows depicting sexual minorities.
اضافة اعلان
A statement
issued jointly by the Saudi media regulator and the six-member GCC,
headquartered in the Saudi capital
Riyadh, did not specifically identify the
offending material, referring only to content that “contradicts Islamic and
societal values”.
“The platform
was contacted to remove this content, including content directed to children,”
the statement said.
Regional
authorities “will follow up on the platform’s compliance with the directives,
and in the event that the infringing content continues to be broadcast, the
necessary legal measures will be taken.”
Saudi state
media went further, highlighting movies and shows featuring LGBT characters.
There was no
immediate reaction from Netflix.
One segment on
the state-run Al-Ekhbariya news channel deplored “movies and series for
children with scenes promoting homosexuality under a dramatic cover via
Netflix”.
A lawyer said in
an on-air interview that these were “very unfortunate and painful clips for our
children, grandchildren, and the next generation”.
A separate
segment, also on Al-Ekhbariya, showed clips from the animated show Jurassic
World Camp Cretaceous in which two female characters kiss, though the channel
blurred their faces.
The channel
interviewed a self-described “family and educational adviser” who said
offensive material was “sneaking into our homes” and that the country faced a
“censorship crisis”.
Gulf countries
have repeatedly locked horns with US film distributors over content related to
sexual minorities, especially in films.
The UAE in June
banned the Disney animated film “Lightyear”, which contains a same-sex kiss.
The UAE is
considered one of the more liberal countries in the
Gulf region, though films
with adult content are routinely cut or edited.
Saudi Arabia,
which only opened cinemas in 2017, asked Disney in April to cut “LGBTQ
references” in the Marvel superhero film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of
Madness”.
Disney did not
comply and the film ultimately was not screened in the kingdom.
In June, Saudi
state media filmed officials seizing rainbow-colored toys and articles of
clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality,
which is a potential capital offense in the kingdom.
Items targeted in the
raids included rainbow-colored bows, skirts, hats, and pencil cases, most of
them apparently manufactured for young children.
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