Rishi Sunak will give UK’s broadcasting watchdog the facility to tackle Netflix for the primary time, amid a row about accuracy within the Harry & Meghan documentary, a report stated. This comes as UK ministers are planning to move a brand new legislation that might convey all streaming giants below the jurisdiction of Ofcom and hand it the facility to impose fines of as much as £250,000, Telegraph reported.
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This may additionally allow viewers to complain to Ofcom about exhibits on Netflix, Amazon Prime and different providers and see them investigated for breaches of a brand new code of conduct, the report added. The plans will type a part of the Authorities’s Media Invoice, which may also promote “distinctively British content material”, The Telegraph reported.
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This comes as Netflix was criticised for deceptive viewers in Harry & Meghan, a six-part documentary sequence by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Earlier, it was reported {that a} {photograph} used within the documentary’s trailer, displaying how the couple have been hounded by the press, later transpired to have been taken at a Harry Potter movie premiere. The trailer additionally included footage that appeared to indicate photographers scrambling for a shot of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle which was claimed to be false.
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Beneath the broadcasting guidelines outlined in Ofcom’s code, “factual programmes or objects or portrayals of factual issues should not materially mislead the viewers”. Following the discharge of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s documentary, UK regulator was compelled to situation a press release reminding the general public that whereas it was “typically contacted by individuals who’ve seen one thing they discovered dangerous or offensive on a streaming service like Netflix”, it was powerless to take any motion.