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Netflix removes Patriot Act episode in Saudi Arabia following government complaint

Netflix removes Patriot Act episode in Saudi Arabia following government complaint

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Netflix has pulled an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj from Saudi Arabia after complaints from the Saudi government, according to a report from Financial Times.

The second episode of the Netflix comedy show criticized Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the government’s reaction to the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi government reportedly told Netflix that the episode violated its cybercrime laws and requested its removal. The cited law effectively states that criticizing the government through any kind of digital medium is a criminal act.

Although Netflix has removed the episode from its service in Saudi Arabia, it can still be viewed on the series’ YouTube channel for those living in the country, according to FT. The episode remains available on Netflix in other countries. Minaj tweeted on Wednesday afternoon about Netflix’s decision to remove the episode.

“Clearly, the best way to stop people from watching something is to ban it, make it trend online, and then leave it up on YouTube,” Minhaj wrote. “Let’s not forget that the world’s largest humanitarian crisis is happening in Yemen right now.”

Pulling the episode is an “an affront to freedom of expression,” Jillian C. York, a director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told FT. Netflix said its decision to take down the episode is similar to what other US-based companies would have done, complying with local laws.

It doesn’t appear that Netflix has ever removed episodes from its original series due to government intervention before now. Netflix even chose not to operate in China, seemingly in part to avoid similar problems, citing a “challenging” regulatory environment. Netflix has operated in Saudi Arabia for nearly three years.

Update January 2nd, 2:40 PM ET: Minhaj commented on the situation via Twitter. We’ve updated the story to include his statement.