You are given the right to view them and that is all. Remember that federal copyright notice you see at the beginning of every DVD and Blu-Ray warning about fines and prison time?

It is therefore both an ethical and a legal violation to “remove the bad content.” This content is part of the creators’ work. Take it or leave it.*

You are not allowed to go to a special bookstore and buy a Stephen King book with the bad language taken out, nor are you allowed to hack into Grand Theft Auto and take out the prostitutes. Those are part of the work. Yet many seem to have the idea that with movies and TV shows, they can remove whatever they want and feel good about it. Not so!

Even from a Latter-day Saint perspective, this practice is dubious. Does the Church endorse removing cockroaches from your dessert and then eating it? No. If you think your dessert is poisoned, you throw it away. Likewise, if you think the Netflix show or film is inappropriate, avoid watching it. Don’t try to use an unsatisfying and illegal workaround.




* Exception: Movie edits that are made for network TV or airplanes are approved by the movie studio and producers. Those are okay. But VidAngel does not fall into this category.