The Russian media regulatory authority intends to introduce a definition “information aggregator”.
The issue on coordinating activities of video services received wide publicity after the largest US service Netflix’s entering the Russian market. Some businessmen are concerned about this issue and require imposing restrictions for that foreign company, as featured by the “Газета.Ru”.
The plan of regulating the Netflix’s operation in the Russian Federation will be elaborated by the Media Communication Union (MCU), established by the largest media companies and operators of the country, which initiated discussions of the problem by involving all the interested parties. Sergey Petrov, MCU’s President, emphasized that the market players had to work out rules that would ensure equal operation conditions. In addition, the MCU also announced a suggestion to inaugurate the Netflix’s Russian office to come under the Russian laws, including in terms of taxation.
Alexander Zharov, Head of Roskomnadzor, in turn, drew attention to the difficulties of coordinating activities of the “transnational content OTT platforms”. The MCU did not comment on plans of adopting suggested definition.
The representatives of streaming service Amediateka and online cinema Tvzavr point out that they cannot see any special hazard in the Netflix. The US video service is not yet capable of competing with Russian players, as its content is not localized (no Russian dubbing or subtitling).
The parties, however, are interested in the regulation of this market segment: they fear that the adoption of legislative restrictions may result in their disfavor. As stated by Marina Surygina, CEO at Tvzavr, the video services may be required to obtain broadcasting licenses, which are quite expensive.
The need in regulating Netflix’s operation in the Russian Federation, namely obtaining broadcasting documents, is also supported by Alexey Volin, Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media. His opinion was also shared by Leonid Levin, Chairman of the State Duma’s Information Policy Committee.
Karen Kazaryan, representing the Russian Association for Electronic Communications, points out that the Netflix does not have any exact interpretation by the Russian laws. According to the Association’s analyst, it is not clear how the US video service can be treated exactly: as television or communications service.
We shall recall that the service has started operating in Russia just recently. The Netflix’s content is also available in Ukraine. However, in Indonesia, one of the largest TV companies Telkom started blocking its customers’ access to the streaming platform.
