Netflix faces scrutiny in India as the country is now investigating the business practices of the company relating to visa violations, racial discrimination, and tax evasion. The details of the probe came through an email from July 20, written by Deepak Yadav-an official at the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) to former Netflix executive Nandini Mehta. In the email, Yadav throws a worried expression over the operations of the video streaming giant in India, adding more pressure on the network.
Mehta worked at Netflix between 2018 and 2020. She is now taking a lawsuit in the United States against the company for wrongful termination as well as racial and gender discrimination. The company denied every claim by Mehta including her wrongful termination claim. In return, the firm argued she was fired due to abuse of her corporate credit card.
Netflix faces scrutiny in India for following reasons:
India’s probe includes claims of illegal constructions, visa breaches, and racially discriminatory practices against Netflix’s Indian operations. FRRO, in cahoots with India’s Intelligence Bureau, specializes in monitoring visas for foreigners and keeping track of the functioning of the company. Email by the Indian Government failed to mention which agencies were leading the probe, but the involvement of FRRO itself indicates how serious the claims are.
While denying all knowledge of such an investigation, Mehta said that he welcomed the Indian government’s inquiry, hoping that their findings would be published. India, with 10 million users of Netflix, is a very important market for the giant streaming service, which has previously faced criticism over content construed as culturally insensitive.
As the fight escalates with a tax demand from India dating back to 2023, Netflix is now dealing with rising legal and regulatory challenges in one of its most important markets abroad.
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