Roku Rejects Calls to Dump NRA TV Channel From Its Devices
A groundswell of online supporters are pushing several major tech companies, including Apple and Google, to sever ties with the National Rifle Association’s TV channel in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
The hashtag #DumpNRATV has been trending on Twitter, calling for Apple, Roku, Google, and Amazon to pull NRA TV content from their streaming services. The channel broadcasts shows, interviews and commentary on, you guessed it, guns, 24 hours a day.
More than 200,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to boot NRA TV. And Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an organization launched after the fatal shooting two weeks ago in Florida, wants the tech giants to stop “providing a platform for the NRA’s dangerous rhetoric.”
Also Read: NRA Spokeswoman Says Media 'Loves' Mass Shootings Because They're 'Ratings Gold' (Video)
“NRATV is home to the NRA’s most dangerous and violence-inciting propaganda,” Shannon Watts, the group’s founder, told the Huffington Post. “It’s time for tech leaders to acknowledge their role in helping the NRA spread this dangerous content and cut it out.”
“We demand that Apple, Amazon, AT&T’s DIRECTV, Google and Roku all dump NRATV once and for all,” she added.
NRATV promotes dangerous conspiracy theories, racially charged rhetoric, and violent demonization of the NRA's political opponents.
Add your name to tell @AppleTV, @Google, @Amazon and @RokuPlayer to #BoycottNRA and #DumpNRATV https://t.co/3rLgSOCRjg pic.twitter.com/Wd5PHJfHxc
— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) February 24, 2018
Also Read: 11 Hollywood Stars in the NRA: From Chuck Norris to James Earl Jones (Photos)
Roku, the popular streaming device maker, is the only service to respond to the petition so far. In a statement to TheWrap on Tuesday, Roku said it would not take action against NRA TV because it “does not curate or censor based on viewpoint,” adding that the NRA channel hasn’t violated its content policies.
Apple, Google and Amazon have not yet returned TheWrap’s request for comment.
Read Roku’s full statement below:
We share deep sadness about the recent tragedy that occurred in Florida.
Our streaming platform allows our customers to choose from thousands of entertainment, news and special interest channels, representing a wide range of topics and viewpoints. Customers choose and control which channels they download or watch, and parents can set a pin to prevent channels from being downloaded. While the vast majority of all streaming on our platform is mainstream entertainment, voices on all sides of an issue or cause are free to operate a channel. We do not curate or censor based on viewpoint.
We are not promoting or being paid to distribute NRA TV. We do not and have not ever had a commercial relationship with the NRA. Their channel is free to consumers with no ads. We welcome Moms Demand Action and other important groups to use our platform to share their messages too.
While open to many voices, we have policies that prohibit the publication of content that is unlawful, incites illegal activities or violates third-party rights, among other things. If we determine a channel violates these policies, it will be removed. To our knowledge, NRA TV is not currently in violation of these content policies.
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