Russian Law Demands Russian Channels to be Added to Netflix

Local Russian television is heavily regulated and censored; thus, it comes as no surprise that the Russian lawmakers would want to do the same to the major streaming services that want to operate on the territory of Russia. One of the newest changes that Amazon Prime Video and Netflix will have to make is to provide their Russian subscribers with twenty federal TV channels.

This turn of events didn’t come as a surprise to Netflix and Amazon, since the law that demands it was created all the way back in 2020; thus, they had plenty of time to prepare. This law comes into effect in March 2022, so soon people will be able to enjoy such channels as Channel One, NTV, Spas, and many more.

Any streaming service that doesn’t comply with this law will be banned and their Russian subscribers will not be able to access their accounts without a VPN. Furthermore, streaming companies are also prohibited from promoting “extremism” and LGBT content. This means that any content created by the supporters of anti-Kremlin opposition is banned.

Over the past few years, Russia has been putting more and more pressure on tech giants Google and Apple to remove “undesirable content”, such as the jailing of Alexei Navalny. For example, due to the fact that Google and Meta weren’t in a rush to remove such content, Russia slapped them with fines that amounted to $125 million.

Overall, it seems like this is just the beginning of complete censorship of the Russian internet. Whether it will be beneficial for the country or not, remains to be seen.

How do you feel about the restrictions that the Russian government is placing on major streaming services and tech giants such as Google and Apple? Do you think that it’s necessary or detrimental for the Russian people? Let us know in the comments below.