The European Parliament has made good on its promise to bring more homegrown content to streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, having just approved new regulations that will ensure 30% of the content on platforms operating in Europe must come from the region.
The new ruling will apply to streaming platforms, broadcasters, and video hosting sites like Facebook and YouTube operating in all EU member states, with individual countries allowed to increased this figure to 40% should they wish to do so.
In a bid to aid the development of European film and television, these platforms have also been asked to provide more monetary support to the industry, through investing in shows as well as contributing to national subsidies.
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Arthouse anyone?
The new directive also calls for protection for children “from violence, hatred, terrorism and harmful advertising” on streaming platforms, which means services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video must take action more quickly when harmful content is flagged up by their users.
Stricter rules on advertising times have also been put into place, which can represent up to 20% of the daily broadcasting period.
How this legislation will be affected by Brexit is unclear at this stage, but hopefully UK viewers won’t miss out on all the French arthouse films and Scandi-noir dramas sure to hit Netflix in the coming months as a result of the new EU legislation.
