Washington: Streaming giant Netflix sought relief after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that was brought by the family of a teenager whose suicide was allegedly triggered by watching the popular show ‘ 13 Reasons Why’.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, the judge based the ruling on free speech protections.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Netflix cannot be sued over recommending the show to viewers.
“This is a tragic case, but ultimately, I don’t think that it survives,” Rogers said.
The lawsuit alleged that viewers were not adequately warned or shielded from suggestive content in ’13 Reasons Why’.
For the unversed, ’13 Reasons Why’ revolves around the suicide of a student Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford). Before her death, Hannah had recorded 13 tapes, in which she explained a reason why she chose to take her own life.
As per the publication, Netflix cautioned in court filings that “restrictions on content would lead to censorship of creative works, noting movies depicting teen suicide such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Dead Poets Society and Dear Evan Hansen.”
The streaming platform moved to dismiss the lawsuit under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which compels the dismissal of claims challenging speech that might be protected.
However, after facing criticism over the particular suicide scene, Netflix had removed the original, nearly three-minute-long suicide scene in the season one finale.