MTRCB says the lockdown made Netflix regulation a ‘necessity’

Nearly a year after they proposed the idea, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) is once again pushing for the regulation of Netflix and other online video streaming platforms.

Legal Affairs Chief Jonathan Presquito proposed the idea to the the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

‘There is a necessity on us to proceed with the regulation, especially during the lockdown’, urged Presquito.

‘For most of us, our sanity is maintained by streaming services: Netflix, Iflix, lahat ng movies na nakikita natin. Pero all of those movies, unrated po yun’.

Presquito also pitched the three benefits of having the streaming entities registered to MTRCB: viewers are assured of age-appropriate content, a better filter on prohibited viewings, and the content distributor is a recognized and authorized entity.

Presquito also believes that under the MTRCB law, the agency has jurisdiction over all ‘motion picture’ content regardless of the medium. Netflix is classified as a video-on-demand platform.

‘Internet is just a medium. Hindi porket sa Internet pinalabas ang isang pelikula, wala na siya sa jurisdiction ng MTRCB’.

Still, Presquito does not want to severely limit Netflix’s operations in the Philippines, only that there should be a balance. He notes that other countries, such as South Korea, are stricted when it comes to Netflix content.

Earlier, the House of Ways and Means approved a bill that placed a 12% value added tax on subscription services.

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Source: we the pvblic