Netflix Urged by Lawmakers to Cut Back Smoking Scenes
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. lawmakers are warning Netflix Inc. to limit the exposure of young people to smoking and vaping imagery.
“We urge your company to take more aggressive steps to limit this imagery and decrease young people's consumption of this harmful content,” wrote Democratic Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut in a letter to Netflix co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos.
The senators cited a report by the Truth Initiative, a public health nonprofit group, saying that Netflix has shown more depictions of smoking or vaping in shows aimed at young people than any other channel for the last four years. Two Netflix shows, “The Queen's Gambit” and “The Umbrella Academy,” each showed more than 200 instances of smoking or vaping in their 2020 season, according to the report.
Netflix didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2019, Netflix pledged to cut down on depictions of smoking, and end them entirely in shows aimed at younger viewers, in response to an earlier round of criticism. “Multiple Netflix programs increased the number of episodes with tobacco imagery” since that commitment, the senators wrote.
The senators asked the company for specific details about how they've implemented this policy, requesting a response by April 21.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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