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NEWS: British Government Announces New Regulation For Major Streamers In U.K.


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The_Outsider



Joined: 09 Sep 2021
Posts: 139
PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 5:30 pm Reply with quote
Have they defined what exactly is "harmful and offensive content"? Vague wording like that is ripe for abuse.
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CreativelyFwrd



Joined: 04 Oct 2024
Posts: 99
PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 5:54 pm Reply with quote
The_Outsider wrote:
Have they defined what exactly is "harmful and offensive content"? Vague wording like that is ripe for abuse.


I saw people talking about incest stuff now being banned in the UK now which would be iike half of anime. I assume sexualization of minors as well which would be the other half so looks like anime isn't in a good spot in the UK. Glad I don't live there. UK would rather go after fictional content than real abuses it would seem Sad
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YagamiBlackstone255



Joined: 10 May 2023
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 5:58 pm Reply with quote
This will basically destroy Crunchyroll.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 6:13 pm Reply with quote
Ah yes, protect adults from checks notes their own imaginations.
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YagamiBlackstone255



Joined: 10 May 2023
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 6:30 pm Reply with quote
I really hope Answerman gets asked about this, because I dont know how anime that arent for really small kids are going to survive this.
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jdnation



Joined: 15 May 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 7:23 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The streamers will need to ensure that at least 80% of their total catalogue is subtitled, 10% is audio-described, and 5% is signed.


There's no problem by default on the first for anime streaming, plus many already have audio description options, but the 3rd is really asking for a lot.

How would you even pull that off with multiple characters talking? Are there going to be videos of AI generated cartoon characters in the bottom right in-video doing the signing?

I'd either start cutting content from the 100% to meet the 5%, or just pull out of the UK altogether. Customers can use a VPN.
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Cypher997



Joined: 08 Apr 2025
Posts: 192
PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 8:28 pm Reply with quote
Ham-fisted implementation of new regulation for major streamers, I can see the headaches that are about to occur, doesn't matter which locale it's in (U.S., U.K., EU, etc.).
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Traptrix Lover



Joined: 17 Dec 2022
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 9:32 pm Reply with quote
YagamiBlackstone255 wrote:
I really hope Answerman gets asked about this, because I dont know how anime that arent for really small kids are going to survive this.


Even in America children's anime is often marketed at adults unless it's edited for TV because even anime aimed at really little kids still have objectionable content in them.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 9:49 pm Reply with quote
I'm not a UK citizen, but I'm not sure if this is enforceable or workable, and by doing this you're hampering creativity. It will hamper freedom of creativity, and also you're already have parental code/V-chip for streaming and subscribers can control each users in their families on what movie and TV show rating can be watched by underage viewers. There's no need for this regulation. I don't know if this will pass or even being enforced because streaming providers already has a built-in parental control even Crunchyroll already has content restriction setting on there, so this is just stupid.
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YagamiBlackstone255



Joined: 10 May 2023
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2026 10:20 pm Reply with quote
Traptrix Lover wrote:
YagamiBlackstone255 wrote:
I really hope Answerman gets asked about this, because I dont know how anime that arent for really small kids are going to survive this.


Even in America children's anime is often marketed at adults unless it's edited for TV because even anime aimed at really little kids still have objectionable content in them.


Especially in America, I meant more that anime like Pokemon doesnt have suicide/self harm themes, so streaming it would be the only sort of kosher anime that would be allowed under this. Naruto, One Piece all PG 14 have suicide and extreme violence I doubt wouldnt be banned under this new law. The only way would either be banning it from streaming entirely or going back to the TV era and edit out the "harmful themes." And Crunchyroll doesnt really do kids anime, because that's not popular with their audiences. Precure is VERY kid friendly, but a season has a massive impalement scene out of nowhere near the end, and one has bullying and suicide themes too. All those would need to be edited out, like in the old days. And keep in mind this is SUBBED. If it was dubbed it would be even worse censorship.. I can see Home Video sales SOAR after this.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5738
PostPosted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 5:47 am Reply with quote
At this point it is hard to tell where TV ends and streaming begins. All the good things about streaming are gone. How will this differ from the regulations around home media, because titles like all of Monogatari was allowed to pass unedited. Will some titles that are fine on BD/DVD, run into issues with being streamed.
Quote:
The streamers will need to ensure that at least 80% of their total catalogue is subtitled
Well, that won't be an issue at least.
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ab2143





PostPosted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 7:47 am Reply with quote
Streaming services already have parental controls and content warnings. It doesn’t require more regulation

For anyone concerned, I should add that Ofcom barely regulate UK broadcasters, I don’t see how they have the power to regulate global streaming services. They are useless when it comes to the BBC and GB News

All of the UK regulators aren’t fit for purpose


Last edited by ab2143 on Sat Feb 28, 2026 9:22 am; edited 1 time in total
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 8:51 am Reply with quote
mdo7 wrote:
Quote:
I'm not a UK citizen, but I'm not sure if this is enforceable or workable

As I read the article, these are regulations to implement a law already passed. So it is a done deal. These are the standards already applied to broadcast TV so they are clearly enforceable. Basically the companies impacted have to comply or get out of the market.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 9:50 am Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
mdo7 wrote:
Quote:
I'm not a UK citizen, but I'm not sure if this is enforceable or workable

As I read the article, these are regulations to implement a law already passed. So it is a done deal. These are the standards already applied to broadcast TV so they are clearly enforceable. Basically the companies impacted have to comply or get out of the market.


Well, how is this going to work for foreign-language content, and American and Australian content aren't going to follow the same thing that could comply to UK regulation. As I said, I don't think this is not going to hold up. Have these same regulators in the UK not know that each streaming providers have already included parental controls and content restrictions for kids. As ab2143 written above you:

ab2143 wrote:
Streaming services already have parental controls and content warnings. It doesn’t require more regulation

For anyone concerned, I should add that Ofcom barely regulate UK broadcasters, I don’t see how they have the power to regulate global streaming services. They are useless when it comes to the BBC and GB News

All of the UK regulators aren’t fit for purpose


As I said, it's unenforceable and just unworkable when you got American and Australian contents following different way when it comes to what's allowed on there that can cause problem when shown in the UK (are they going to ban American and Australian contents on Netflix if it doesn't comply with UK regulation). How is this going to work when Netflix, and Crunchyroll already has built-in parental controls and content warnings? This is just as stupid as a GOP congresswoman want to ban strippers in school (yes, that is real!!!) when no school ever brought in strippers at a kids event at all. Rolling Eyes
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Alan45
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 28, 2026 8:10 pm Reply with quote
I'm not sure why it would not be enforceable. All the UK regulators have to do is fine the hell out of the streaming companies every time "objectionable content" is made available to UK subscribers. They don't care if the U.S. and Japan have different standards or if the streaming companies have other controls. Netflix and other streamers already offer different content to different countries. Preventing the UK from seeing "objectionable content" would not be any different then preventing them from seeing shows not licensed for the UK.

The question of how heavily they apply their regulations is another issue. They don't even have to view the stuff themselves. They simply wait until someone complains and do a review then.
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