Netflix—Netflix pulled Patriot Act episode critical of Saudi crown prince after government demand
In January 2019, Netflix removed an episode of 'Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj' in Saudi Arabia after the Saudi government stated the episode violated its cybercrime laws. The episode criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and questioned US ties with Saudi Arabia following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Netflix stated it complied because it was legally required to do so under Saudi law, but was widely criticized for yielding to censorship from a government with severe human rights violations.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authoritarian Compliance | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Press Freedom | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.107 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.57)× agency (compelled ×0.25)
Evidence (1 signal)
Netflix removed Patriot Act episode in Saudi Arabia criticizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Netflix pulled an episode of 'Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj' after Saudi Arabia stated the episode violated its cybercrime laws. The episode criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and questioned US-Saudi ties following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Netflix complied with the legal demand, drawing criticism from free speech advocates.