This blog is a gift to my wife, Renee, and my children, Adele, Athan, Audrey, Anne, Amelia, and Andrea.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

When Ethical Issues Hit Home (Specifically, The Family Room)

I love Netflix's service.  I've been a customer since they became available in Canada.  The service is cheap, fast, and has increasingly delivered very high quality original content.  Renee loves to watch Korean drama.  I love to watch zombie shows.  When Netflix came out with Kingdom (a Korean zombie drama), we finally found a show that both of us can watch!

However, this post is not about Netflix's shows.  It's about a much more serious issue.  Recently, the state of Georgia in the US passed a law that disallows abortion on babies whose heartbeat has been detected.  This law is seen as a victory for the pro-life movement.  Unexpectedly, at least for me, Netflix entered into the scene.  They announced that they will be working with the ACLU to fight this law and will be reconsidering its investment in Georgia.

It is one thing for a company to voice its opinion on a matter; it is quite another to take an active role on such a topic.  I think Netflix has crossed the line for me.  If it continues down this path, I believe it would be morally unacceptable for me to continue both paying for its service and owning shares of the company.  After all, part of my money will be going to be used to fight against a pro-life legislation.

So, I decided to write a message to them through their investor relations page.  You can see it below. 

I will be watching this closely to see what actions, if any, Netflix will take.  If it comes to the point where I need to unsubscribe, it will make life very inconvenient for me.  I don't have cable; so what will I watch?  Maybe I can watch Disney+ when it comes out...but unfortunately, Disney is taking the same stance.  What is one to do in this secular world?  I guess this is a cross one must carry.

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Hi Netflix,

I have been a Netflix customer since you came to Canada and have recently became a shareholder.  While I respect differing viewpoints on the topic of abortion, I am displeased by the recent announcement that Netflix will be using its resources, which partly comes from my monthly subscription fee and my investment in the company, to take an active pro-abortion role.  If Netflix continues down this path, I will be forced to both unsubscribe to your service and also sell all of my shares of NFLX.  I do not have a unique perspective on this topic; millions of your subscribers and investors, whether religious or not, are pro-life.  Please reconsider your position.  Thank you.

Regards,
Felix Wong
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