Even with all the intelligence at their disposal, human beings retain a strong tendency to make mistakes every now and then. This dynamic has remained pretty evident throughout our history, with each appearance practically forcing us to look for a defensive cover. To the world’s credit, it will find that exact cover by bringing dedicated regulatory bodies into the fold. You see, having a well-defined authority across each and every area was a game-changer, as it concealed a lot of our mistakes right away, therefore creating a much safer reality. However, the party won’t last for very long, and if we are being honest, it was all technology’s fault. Technology and its layered nature would go on to impose a scenario where everyone suddenly had an unprecedented shot at exploiting others for their own benefit. The shift naturally overwhelmed our regulatory bodies, and consequentially, sent us way back. Fortunately, though, the authorities won’t take this lying down. In fact, the traces of a comeback are already apparent in some cases, and Hulu’s latest decision should only solidify them moving forward.
After a lot of controversy, Hulu has finally decided to start accepting political and candidate ads. The whole runner commenced when the platform’s majority owner, Disney went ahead and banned all the ads discussing abortion, gun reform, climate change, and other. Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time we have witnessed Disney getting embroiled in such a mess. Just a few months ago, the company came under fire for declining to take a stance on the Florida legislation known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The enormous external pressure would eventually get Disney to publically oppose the bill back in March. Coming back to the latest hullabaloo, the dogfight between Hulu and Democrats entered the limelight when Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Democratic Governors Association revealed that Hulu rejected campaign ads centered on the stated topics, while other platforms ran those ads without any trouble whatsoever.
“After a thorough review of ad policies across its linear networks and streaming platforms over the last few months, Disney is now aligning Hulu’s political advertising policies to be consistent with the Company’s general entertainment and sports cable networks and ESPN+,” Disney said in a statement to Axios.
The conversation about streaming services and their stance on such ads has always been a sticking point in the political context. You see, while Communications Act of 1934 blocks all the broadcast television networks from censoring any political ads, the law doesn’t really cover the new-age streaming services, therefore leaving them to make their own decision. However, looking at the conclusion of this Hulu-led saga, it seems like the call is still somewhat out of their hands.
