| Conservative politicians are using the movie "Cuties" to attack Netflix for its executives' liberal views and the company's alliances with Democratic politicians. More than 600,000 people say they are going to cancel the service because of the movie, while Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton have asked the Justice Department to investigate the filmmakers. What about "Cuties" has caused such a strong reaction? "Cuties" is a French movie that criticizes the hypersexualization of young girls. Netflix acquired the rights ahead of the Sundance Film Festival, where it won an award, and the streaming service's marketing leaned into the sex, portraying young girls in skimpy clothes. Big mistake. The right-wing politicians seized on this as a sign of the left's predilection for pedophilia — a baseless smear associated with the conspiracy group QAnon — and demanding the Obamas, who have a deal with Netflix, condemn the film. Many of the critics don't care about the point of the movie, and some, such as Cruz, have not seen it at all. They are angry that the movie depicts young women in any kind of sexualized manner. (They have not expressed similar disdain for the scantily clad underage girls on TikTok or Instagram, or any number of reality TV shows.) In the end, it's unlikely to impact Netflix's business -- at least in the U.S.. This is not the first time Netflix has angered conservatives, who pledged to boycott the service because of its production deal with the Obamas. They also criticized the company when Netflix voiced concern about a law restricting abortions in Georgia. None of these boycotts slowed Netflix's growth.
The company has also never taken down a show in the U.S. because of protests, and it's hard to imagine these latest protests will force it to break with precedent. But there is precedent for Netflix taking programs down abroad, and that's the potential controversy that you should follow. Netflix has delayed the release of the movie in Turkey, and has yet to provide a new date. As Netflix has introduced its service to more than 190 countries, it has said people all over the world watch the same kinds of shows. Not everyone in Egypt likes "Stranger Things" as much as people in the U.S., but people in Egypt like a similar mix of comedy, drama, reality and film. Whether or not that is true, people in Egypt don't have similar views about gay marriage, free speech, religion or the role of women in society. Governments in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Vietnam and Germany have all asked Netflix to take programs down due to objectionable content. Netflix has complied, removing nine titles at the request of governments over the past five years, including two last year (an episode of comedian Hasan Minhaj's show in Saudi Araba and "The Last Temptation of Christ" in Singapore). These complaints are only going to get more frequent as Netflix becomes more popular outside the U.S. Free speech is under attack all over the world, and Netflix has intentionally pushed the boundaries of what foreign viewers will tolerate. Its show "Scared Games" caused a bit of a scandal in India, prompting a debate over regulating the content of programs on streaming services. While the domestic criticism of "Cuties" seems more motivated by politics than morals, European filmmakers have often made art that makes moviegoers elsewhere uncomfortable. And now that streaming is bringing a lot more foreign product into the U.S., chances are it's going to make some Americans uncomfortable. (Imagine the scandal if CBS aired a Lars von Trier movie.) The U.S. has strong free speech laws that protect a movie like "Cuties." So while I might not worry about politicians deciding what Netflix shows in its home country, I would worry about foreign governments exerting more control over what is and isn't acceptable for their viewers. – Lucas Shaw | 
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