As Russian troops continue to wreak havoc in Ukraine and engage in brutal aggression towards the general public, mercilessly torturing them, Netflix, too, stands firm in its decision to suspend service in Russia. At the start of the war, the streaming service had defied the Putin government and refused to air programmes that fall under the Kremlin propaganda before halting all productions in Russia and suspending service.
Now, the Russian Netflix users have begun suing the American streamer for suspending its service as a form of the latter’s personal condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Netflix has about a million subscribers in Russia. The users have resorted to a law firm that launched a class action against Netflix for violating the rights of the Russian users by denying them access. The users have paid 599 to 799 roubles (£5.55-£9.26) and have asked for a compensation of 60 million roubles (£560,200) for being denied the right to watch shows on Netflix, including Don’t Look Up, Bridgerton, The Crown, Ozark etc.
The law firm Chernyshov Lukoyanov & Partners released a statement saying, “Today, a law firm representing the interests of Netflix users filed a class-action lawsuit against the American Netflix service with the Khamovnichesky district court of Moscow.”
They have cited “a violation of Russian users’ rights due to Netflix’s unilateral refusal to provide services in Russia.”
Netflix, with its nearly 200 million household subscriber base, has not commented on it. Back in February 2022, Netflix had refused to comply with the Putin government’s demands to include channels that propagate Kremlin propaganda.
A spokesperson for Netflix said, “Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service.”
