‘I Am God’, ‘The Glory’ Sexuality Controversy
“Need for Youth Exposure Safeguards Ahead of Voluntary Rating System”
Over the past three years, it has been confirmed that two out of three youth-restricted rated contents provided on online video services (OTT) were Netflix contents.
On the 26th, Kim Seung-soo, a member of the People Power Party belonging to the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, analyzed data received from the Korea Media Rating Board and found that among 8,365 contents reviewed for domestic and international OTT rating classification from 2020 to 2022, 1,763 contents, or 21%, received a youth-restricted rating.
Looking at youth-restricted videos by platform, 1,145 contents (64.9%) were from Netflix, the largest domestic platform. This means two out of three cases were Netflix contents.
Disney Plus had 195 contents, TVING 147, Wavve 126, Coupang Play 57, Watcha 50, and Apple TV Plus 43, following behind.
As Netflix's recently popular contents such as "I Am God" and "The Glory" have sparked controversy over sexual content and exposure scenes, concerns have been raised that measures to minimize side effects should be reviewed ahead of the implementation of the OTT self-rating system scheduled for the 28th.
Rep. Kim pointed out, "As the domestic and international OTT market rapidly grows, harmful videos to youth such as drugs, violence, and drinking are being exposed without protection," and added, "The OTT self-rating system could lead to lowering video age ratings due to industry competition for viewership."
He continued, "While recognizing the necessity of the self-rating system to enhance the competitiveness of the content industry, institutional supplements and strict post-management of videos are needed to alleviate concerns about exposure to harmful content for youth."
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