Rishi Sunak set to give Ofcom power to take on Netflix in wake of row over Harry and Meghan documentary
- Ministers are planning a new law to grant Ofcom powers over streaming giants
- Ofcom would be able to investigate them for breaches of a new code of conduct
- The plans will form part of the Government’s Media Bill and could be next year
Rishi Sunak is set to give Ofcom the power to take on Netflix in the wake of a row over accuracy in Harry and Meghan’s documentary.
Ofcom does not currently regulate Netflix, but ministers are planning a new law to grant it enforcement powers over the streaming giants, The Telegraph reported.
The UK’s communications regulator would be able to investigate Netflix, Amazon Prime and other services for breaches of a new code of conduct and issue fines of up to £250,000.
The plans to establish a legal basis for Ofcom to regulate streaming services will form part of the Government’s Media Bill and could be as soon as next year.
Rishi Sunak is set to give Ofcom the power to take on Netflix in the wake of a row over accuracy in Harry and Meghan’s documentary
It comes as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex detailed their experiences leading to their decision to step away from royal duties and make a new start in the US in Harry & Meghan, a six-part series
It comes as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex detailed their experiences leading to their decision to step away from royal duties and make a new start in the US in Harry & Meghan, a six-part series.
One of the trailers contains misrepresentations that have characterised the couple’s Netflix project, with its use of ‘fake’ footage to illustrate media harassment of the couple.
Meghan talks about being ‘fed to the wolves’ accompanied by a photograph of her being supposedly hounded by a bank of photographers.
Except the picture was clearly taken when she flew by private jet to New York for a lavish baby shower when she was expecting her first child Archie, accompanied by a team of taxpayer-funded police officers.
Footage of cameramen included in the trailer was actually filmed as former glamour model Katie Price arrived for a drink-driving court appearance.
Meanwhile, a photograph showing banks of waiting Press photographers was taken at a Harry Potter premiere with no royal attendance.
Ofcom does not currently regulate Netflix, but ministers are planning a new law to grant it enforcement powers over the streaming giants
NETFLIX: This photo of a casually dressed Prince Harry featured in an image montage in the bombshell Netflix trailer
REALITY: The picture was actually taken in September 2007 when Prince Harry met his then-girlfriend Chelsy Davey at Heathrow Airport. Netflix cropped out Chelsey and appear to have added a filter to emphasise the flash photography
NETFLIX: Another photograph that was used in the first Harry and Meghan’s Netflix trailer
REALITY: But rather than showing photographers fighting for space to snap Harry and Meghan, the image is actually from a Harry Pottery premiere
Meghan asserted at one point that her and Harry’s engagement interview with the BBC’s Mishal Husain was an ‘orchestrated reality show’ where they ‘weren’t allowed to tell our own story’.
The Radio 4 host waded in on the debate, gasping live on air when she heard the claim before stating ‘recollections may vary’ in response to the assertion.
One source who had been involved in the interview process said: ‘Every word of that interview was what they wanted to say. She (Meghan) controlled every micro-detail of how their engagement publicly went.’
At one point, footage shows photographers swarming around a car as Meghan says: ‘I realised they [the Royal Household] are never gonna protect you.’
The trailer then cuts to an image of Meghan wiping her eyes, apparently in tears.
But the car footage was filmed outside the home of Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, as he left to start a prison sentence in 2019.
Another photograph showed Harry and Meghan walking away with their baby son Archie while a cameraman appeared to loom over them from a hidden vantage point.
Journalist Robert Jobson said it was taken when the couple met Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town, and that Harry and Meghan had agreed where just three officially-accredited British photographers and journalists could stand.
He said it was a ‘complete travesty’ to use the photograph as an example of Press intrusion.
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