The UK government have announced plans for their regulatory authority Ofcom to have jurisdicition over streaming services (eg. Netflix) for adherence to their Broadcasting Code.

With sizeable fines of the larger of a quarter of a million pounds or five percent of the company's revenue for breaches.

Australia?

Our Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) can't receive complaints about streaming providers and are widely regarded as toothless anyway.

ACMA receive reports about what content is available on and made in Australia by streaming services.

There is presently discussion surrounding that and possible regulation of reporting in the interest of encouraging / forcing streaming services to make more local content.

And there is some interesting local content.

We recently saw a passing mention of AMC's Firebite. The first time we've laid eyes on it.

Since the AMC channel is relatively new here and most of their best content is available through other streaming services, there might not be many local subscribers. It is also reportedly going under the radar overseas.

Vampires have been done to death and back but this is a novel local concept.

Firebite is set in a remote desert mining town, a hive for the last vampire stronghold shipped from Britain to Australia in 1788 by the colonial superpower to eradicate the Indigenous populations. Sheltering from the sun in the underground mines and tunnels that surround the town until the present day, the colony’s numbers and hunger is growing. War is coming. Tyson and Shanika stand vanguard to the war. But what hope does an expertly reckless man full of bravado and a 17-year-old orphan possibly have to defeat these vicious blood-thirsty parasites, when legions of warriors before them have failed?

[ Main image: Firebite. Credit: AMC via IMDb.com. ]

References

Australian Communications and Media Authority. Complain about a program on TV or radio. (viewed May 1, 2022)

Australian Communications and Media Authority. Spending by subscription video on demand providers 2020–21. (viewed May 1, 2022)

Australian Government (February 2022). Streaming Services Reporting and Investment Scheme Discussion Paper.

Frost, Caroline (April 30, 2022). Netflix, Disney+ And Amazon Prime To Be Regulated For First Time, Under UK Government Plans. Deadline.

Jay, Johnny (December 12, 2021). Firebite. Cancelled Sci Fi.

Jay, Johnny (December 12, 2021). Status Updates: Moon Knight and Hawkeye Get Mini-Series Designation, Future for Shining Vale Looks Dim, and More. Cancelled Sci Fi.