Orrin Hatch calls for MPAA filters on streaming services, movies
Sen. Orrin Hatch worked on legislature separate from all of the health care debates by working on the content filtering project Wednesday, writing a letter urging the MPAA to allow filtering on streaming services.
Hatch is the author of the 2005 Family Movie Act, which allowed users to filter out sex, violence, and foul language on DVD releases.
public domain photo/’65 Pontiac
VidAngel, based in Provo, Utah, has argued that its streaming service should be permissible under that law. But three major studios — Disney, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox — have obtained an injunction to shut the service down.
The Hollywood elites argue that VidAngel’s service is not protected under the FMA, violates their copyrights, and competes unfairly with Netflix and other streaming services.
The letter was signed by Hatch and four of the five other members of Utah’s Congressional delegation: Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Mia Love, Rob Bishop, and Chris Stewart. It was addressed to MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd.
“We have heard from many constituents who are eager to use filtering technology with online streaming,” they wrote.
“We understand that there are outstanding legal disputes over whether the business models such filtering services employ fall within the bounds of the FMA. We do not wish to wade into such disputes, but do wish to express to you our strong desire that consumers be able to have access to effective online filtering technology consistent with the FMA and other applicable laws. We would hope that such technology could ultimately become available across multiple devices and multiple streaming services.”
In a separate statement, Hatch said he is looking for “a way for everyone to win on this issue.”
“I believe that families should have the choice to screen out profanity, violence, and other objectionable content from movies and television shows if they want to,” he said. “At the same time, it’s essential that we protect content creators’ intellectual property rights.”
VidAngel recently launched a new service that filters content on Netflix and Amazon, though it does not offer content from any of the three plaintiff studios. Netflix has stated that the service is unauthorized, but has not indicated whether it will move to shut it down.
The MPAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
