Discussions on regulations imposed on the US video streaming service Netflix that recently ventured into the Kenyan broadcasting industry are getting heated up as time goes by.
The Kenya Film and Classification Board told journalists that they disagreed with the ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, who had asked all the regulatory bodies in the country to wait until a concrete solution is set on how to handle Netflix and other Over The Top (OTT) service providers operating in the country.
In an interview with journalists at his office yesterday, the Kenya Film and Classification Board Chairman Jackson Kosgei said “This is great contravention of laws governing film and broadcast content distribution in Kenya, which has put at risk our moral values and national security. The medium of transmission, notwithstanding all content whether local or foreign, must be regulated,”.
Mr Kosgei stated his displeasure that Netflix has already started streaming its content even before passing it through the concerned bodies for regulation purposes. He further stated that discussions have even been opened up so as to get ways of regulating OTT service providers in the country like Netflix and YouTube.
Kosgei said that immorality cannot be prioritized for profit purposes as the children in the country get affected. He added that moral and legal consideration outweigh all available benefits disclosing that the content classified by Netflix as fit for 13 year olds and above contained extreme violence, nudity, promotion of irresponsible material, inappropriate language and drug abuse.
Recently, very strict regulations were put in place by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and KFSB to broadcasters which demands the watershed hours of 5am to 10pm. There are strict rules about what can be shown on TV before the 10pm watershed. The code also dictates what content is to be aired and at what times.
CA Director General Fransis Wangusi agreed that regulation of Netflix would be a bit difficult in the country since its services can be accessed through the internet on mobile phones, computers and on many other devices.
Despite all the discussions going round on the regulation of Netflix’s content, there are no laws in place currently to control OTT services in the country. YouTube, Facebook, Viber and WhatsApp are all OTT services and they have never been regulated ever since they ventured into the Kenyan Industry.
Article by Vera Shawiza.