Kenya: “Netflix a security risk”
January 21, 2016
The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has threatened to block Netflix claiming it is a “threat to our moral values and national security.” KFCB chairman Bishop Jackson Kipkemoi Kosgei said Netflix must be must be subject to Kenya’s rules and regulations and claimed the KFCB had legal grounds to try and block the service due to the nature of the content currently available on the service.
“The Kenya Film Classification Board holds the view that by failing to conform to ratings and classification regulations, as provided in the law, Netflix remains a threat to our moral values and national security,” said Kosgei.
The KFCB claimed that some of the content on Netflix deemed suitable for 13-year olds contained “classifiable elements such as extreme violence, nudity, promotion of irresponsible sexual behaviour, inappropriate language and drug abuse.” The board said that by Kenyan law it has the authority to regulate the creation, broadcast, possession, distribution and exhibition of audio-visual content in the country and that moral and legal considerations must outweigh other interests. “As a progressive country, we cannot afford to be passive recipients of foreign content that could corrupt the moral values of our children and compromise our national security.”
Netflix launched in Kenya earlier this month as part of its expansion into 130 new countries.