PETALING JAYA: It is the parents’ responsibility rather than the government’s to monitor what their children watch over streaming services such as Netflix, according to several individuals.
Instead of having the government regulate online media service providers, parents should be the ones to set the rules for their own children, celebrity Tony Eusoff said yesterday.
His view was echoed by social activist Azrul Mohd Khalib, who argued that by allowing the government to set the rules, “the rest of us” would be penalised if some parents failed to regulate what their children watch.
They were commenting on a suggestion by Malaysian Film Development Corporation (Finas) chief executive Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nazri that content from Netflix should be censored because some parents feared it could have a negative influence on their children.
Tony said if parents were unhappy with the content, they could cancel their subscriptions. “It’s as simple as that. Parents should be held accountable for their own kids. Do not be lazy. Please don’t do this, Finas,” he tweeted.
Azrul, who is chief executive of Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, said Netflix already provided an option for parental control. “If the parents do not know how to activate the parental control option, why should the rest of us be punished?”
Former DJ Kudsia Kahar said it was up to the consumer to choose the content they wanted. “People will choose what they want to watch and what matters to them,” she said.
DAP Youth national vice-chairman Muhammad Shakir Ameer Mohideen reminded the government that Pakatan Harapan had promised not to censor the internet or the media.
He felt that viewers should be allowed to use their own discretion to evaluate the content.
“Finas should play its main role, that is to ensure the nation’s film industry develops with high quality content and is of international standard.”
On the other hand, Malaysians Against Pornography, a local non-governmental organisation, said not only Netflix but any online media should be censored. “We feel any material that has elements of porn should be censored.”
