Amazon has been found in breach of Ofcom’s programming regulations after a viewer reported that a film containing sexual content was played to their children, rather than the PG movie they had rented on Prime Video.
The family had intended to watch Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, but instead, the 2010 romantic comedy-drama Love & Other Drugs began playing. Starring Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal, the film carries a British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) 15 rating, citing "strong sex, sex references and language."
“After the selected content began playing, the complainant became aware that the film that had actually played was a different film containing strong sexual content,” Ofcom said.
The complainant contacted the the UK communications watchdog after they received no contact from Amazon following three phone calls.
The streaming platform was found to have broken a rule for providers of on-demand programme services (ODPS), which says “a person providing an on-demand programme service must take appropriate measures to ensure that any specially restricted material is made available by the service in a manner which secures that persons under the age of 18 will not normally see or hear it”.
Amazon apologised for the error and said the issue was escalated and fixed in less than 48 hours, but added that 122 customers had attempted to access Diary Of A Wimpy Kid in that time.
The film was only available to rent or purchase and was not free as part of a subscription, meaning it was not available on Prime Video child profiles which, by default, prohibit rentals and purchases.
Ofcom acknowledged Amazon’s assurances that it had updated its procedures to prevent the issue occurring again, but ruled it was a breach of ODPS Rule 12, adding: “Ofcom expects ODPS providers to act quickly in circumstances where they become aware of ongoing issues that may result in harm to children or audiences more broadly.”
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid is a children’s film based on Jeff Kinney’s 2007 book about middle school boy Greg Heffley, while Love & Other Drugs is about a pharmaceutical salesman who starts a relationship with a young woman diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
The website of the BBFC, which is the video regulator for the UK, says the romantic comedy includes “occasional sex scenes between a man and woman”, “references to oral sex” and “brief drug misuse”.
