MTRCB seeks jurisdiction over streaming services like Netflix, Amazon
On Tuesday, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board said that revisions were necessary to extend its authority to include foreign video streaming providers like Netflix and Amazon.
According to the Presidential Decree that previous President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. signed into law, the board’s power is restricted to television and motion pictures exclusively, the MTRCB Chairperson Diorella Maria Sotto-Antonio stated during the discussion of the agency’s 2023 budget.
“With regards to online streamers, hindi pa siya nasasaklaw. Kaya kailangan amyehndahan ang PD 1986, if we want to include the online streamers,” Sotto-Antonio explained.
Netflix and Amazon Prime are approaching the board for coordination of their material even though the board has no authority over the streaming services, according to the MTRCB chairman.
In response to a request from the Department of Foreign Affairs, MTRCB banned the movie “Uncharted” from Philippine theaters in April 2022. (DFA).
“Uncharted” featured a picture of China’s nine-dash line claim, which was rejected by an international tribunal in 2016, and the DFA urged the board to reconsider and remove it.
“We expressed our concern about a particular film which involved the sovereignty of our country, I appreciate them so much when MTRCB informed them about this, they immediately took down that particular scene. So they do self-regulation,” Sotto-Antonio said.
