Netflix, one of the most famous streaming services, has revealed that it has removed nine movies/shows from its service across the globe on the request of different governments.
The list was made available in an environmental social governance report, which was first spotted by Axios. Netflix’s catalogue is different in all countries, but it was “forced to remove specific titles or episodes of titles in specific countries due to government takedown demands,” the report says.
The nine takedown requests were made from 2015 to 2020. These include the following:
- In 2015, the New Zealand government asked Netflix to remove The Bridge, a documentary film released in 2006. The film shows a number of suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge.
- In 2017, the Vietnamese government asked the streaming platform to remove Full Metal Jacket, a 1987 movie that depicts director Stanley Kubrick’s version of the Vietnam War.
- In 2017, Germany asked for the removal of 1968 American independent horror film, Night of the Living Dead. A version of the movie is reportedly banned in the country too.
- In 2018, Singapore asked for the removal of Cooking on High (2018), a reality show in which contestants are required to make cannabis part of their dishes, The Legend of 420 (2017), a film which explores the different uses of marijuana, and Disjointed (2017), a drama serial on a woman running a cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles.
- In 2019, Netflix removed the episode on Saudi Arabia from Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (2018) on the request of the Kingdom.
- In 2019, Singapore asked for the removal of the 1988 epic religious drama, The Last Temptation of Christ.
- In 2020, Netflix removed Brazilian comedy web series The Last Hangover (2018) from Singapore’s catalogue.
Netflix has said, in the report, that it will try to keep its titles on the streaming service in different countries.
