Group Supported by Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Challenges Government Regulations on Tobacco

A letter viewed by Reuters revealed that a group in India, which represents Netflix, Amazon, and Disney, has informed the government that the new tobacco warning regulations are impractical for streaming giants and will infringe on the creative freedom of content producers.

As part of India’s anti-tobacco drive, the health ministry last month ordered streaming platforms to add static health warnings during smoking episodes within three months. India also wants at least 50 seconds of anti-tobacco disclaimers, including audiovisual information, at the beginning and middle of each program.

The three companies and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s streaming platform JioCinema were recently part of private discussions mulling backlash options, including a legal challenge, as executives worried the rules would require millions of hours of Indian and Hollywood content to be edited.

The amount of multilingual content on platforms is “extremely high… it is virtually impossible to include such warnings in content,” the letter from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said.

The letter said IAMAI asked the health ministry to review the “burdensome” rules, saying research had shown viewers were indifferent to images of smoking on streaming platforms.

Netflix declined to comment, while IAMAI and other companies did not immediately respond. The Ministry of Health did not respond either.

In addition to Hollywood content, streaming companies Netflix, Amazon, Disney and JioCinema have become increasingly popular in India. Popular Hindi content starring Bollywood actors on such platforms includes smoking scenes.

Activists have welcomed India’s new rules, saying they would reduce smoking in a country where tobacco kills 1.3 million people each year.

The companies believe that content descriptors — which warn users in a video with a “smoking” tag at the beginning of the video — were more effective, IAMAI said.

The group said the “disruptions” caused by the warnings were “problems for content creators who are making significant investments”.

All smoking and drinking scenes in films in Indian cinemas and on television are required by law to carry health warnings, but there were no regulations for the streaming giants until now.

In 2013, Woody Allen stopped screening his film Blue Jasmine in India after learning that mandatory anti-tobacco warnings would be added to its smoking scenes.

Sanjay Seth of the non-profit Sambandh Health Foundation said there should be no difference between anti-smoking in films and digital platforms.

“They need to enforce this. It will save lives,” Seth said.