LHC dismisses petition to regulate Netflix, Amazon, and Prime Video under censorship laws

LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday dismissed a petition seeking regulation of films available on Netflix, Amazon, Prime Video, and other websites under the laws framed by the Censor Board.

Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh stated that platforms like Netflix and Amazon upload millions of hours of content, with new material being added every hour. It is extremely difficult to censor such a vast volume of content before publication, and there is no existing law that enables such regulation.

The petitioner had requested that the Motion Picture Ordinance be applied to these platforms, but the court held that this request was not in accordance with the law and therefore dismissed it.

Justice Sheikh issued a 20-page written judgment in response to the petition filed by a private company. The judge noted that the petitioners operate cinemas in Pakistan and hold licenses to screen films. According to them, the Motion Picture Ordinance of 1979 exists to monitor and control film content, and they requested that this same law be used to regulate films released on websites and social platforms as well.

The judgment explained that the Motion Picture Ordinance of 1979 predates the digital era and was specifically designed for films shown in cinemas. Its purpose was to control content before it appears on screen and to provide clean content to the public. Platforms like Netflix and social media sites do not fall under this ordinance, as such platforms did not exist when the law was enacted.

Justice Sheikh further noted that following the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, matters related to the Censor Board have become provincial. Each province has since passed its own Motion Picture Act and introduced amendments, including content like TV shows, dramas, and stage performances. However, no province has amended the law to include films released on social platforms. If the lawmakers had intended to include social media and streaming platforms, it would have been explicitly mentioned in the amended acts.

The judgment stated that Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and similar platforms operate in fundamentally different ways. They function through the internet and deliver on-demand content via smartphones and digital devices. Content that is anti-state or against Islamic teachings can be removed through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), which holds the authority under the PECA Act (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) to remove illegal content on its own initiative as well.

The court further noted that one of the core challenges is that it is difficult to remove only specific content, often requiring blocking of entire websites. This issue is not limited to Pakistan but is a concern for countries around the world.

Therefore, the court concluded that the request to apply the Motion Picture Ordinance to platforms like Netflix and Amazon is not legally valid. As a result, the petition was declared inadmissible and dismissed.