Calls to boycott Hulu and cancel subsciptions to the streaming service are growing on social media on Tuesday after reports emerged that the streaming service declined to run political ads from Democratic organizations on topics including abortion and gun control. 

What You Need To Know

  • On Monday, the Washington Post reported that on July 15, three Democratic Party committees tried to purchase joint ads on abortion rights and gun control with Hulu but the ads were rejected

  • Hulu and other streaming services are not bound by the 1934 Communications Act – a law that requires broadcast television networks to provide politicians equal access to the airwaves

  • A person familiar with Hulu’s policies told the Washington Post that the company “does not publicly disclose its advertising guidelines but that they prohibit advertising that takes a position on a controversial issue'

  • The Democratic committees are calling on Hulu to reverse its policy on ads, stating that it is “blocking Americans from getting information about some of the most critical issues in this midterm election"

On Monday, the Washington Post reported that on July 15, three Democratic Party committees – the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)  and the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) –  tried to purchase joint ads on abortion rights and gun control with Hulu. But despite having been accepted by Youtube, Roku, NBC, Facebook and broadcast and cable TV channels, the ads were reportedly rejected by Hulu over “content-related” issues. 

Unlike television networks, Hulu and other streaming services are not bound by the 1934 Communications Act – a law that requires broadcast television networks to provide politicians equal access to the airwaves. Streaming services have control over which commercials it airs. 

Spectrum News has reached out to Hulu for comment. 

The Washington Post cited a person familiar with Hulu's policies, who said that the company “does not publicly disclose its advertising guidelines but that they prohibit advertising that takes a position on a controversial issue.”

The ambiguity of Hulu’s policy has sparked outrage online and from the Democratic committees. 

In a joint statement sent to Spectrum News, executive directors of the DSCC, DCCC and DGA, Christie Roberts, Tim Persico and Noam Lee, said that “Hulu’s censorship of the truth is outrageous.” 

“Voters have the right to know the facts about MAGA Republicans’ agenda on issues like abortion,” they said. “Hulu is doing a huge disservice to the American people by blocking voters from learning the truth about the GOP record or denying these issues from even being discussed.”

On Twitter, the DSCC added that “Americans deserve to know the truth about these issues, and Hulu has no right to block it.” 

The committees are calling on Hulu to reverse its policy on ads, stating that it is “blocking Americans from getting information about some of the most critical issues in this midterm election.”

In response to the outcry, a number of Twitter users are publicly stating that they are canceling their subscriptions to Hulu and encouraging others to do the same. The hashtag ‘#BoycottHulu’ was trending on Twitter Tuesday morning. 

“I’m canceling Hulu today,” wrote Fred Guttenberg, a prominent gun safety activist whose daughter, Jamie, was killed in the February 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Musician April Smith urged her followers on Twitter to "Cancel your Hulu subscription until they get the message," she wrote on Twitter. "You won't miss out on the Handmaid's Tale because we're basically living the first season right now."

Christina Reynolds, VP of Communications at EMILY’s LIST, a political action committee that helps to elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights, also called out the streaming service.

“Huge majorities of this country support abortion rights. Your decision to refuse ads that talk about it--that's what's controversial,” Reynolds wrote to the company. “You're picking the wrong side here by banning ads that talk about reproductive rights.” 

The Democratic committees are not the only ones who have had ads rejected on Hulu in recent months. Earlier this month, Suraj Patel, a Democratic candidate for Congress in New York City, wrote a letter to Hulu claiming that streaming service had demanded his campaign remove “sensitive” issues – abortion, climate change or gun laws – from his digital campaign ads.

In the letter, which was first reported by Jezebel, Patel demanded that Hulu "reconsider" what he described as its "ban on advertising that mentions the most important messages of the day."

“To not discuss these topics in my campaign ad is to not address the most important issues facing the United States,” said Patel in the letter. “We are at an absolutely critical time in our nation’s history. How are voters supposed to make informed choices if their candidates cannot talk about the most important issues of the day?” 

In May, it was reported that Hulu rejected Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux’s D-Ga., ad that mentioned her “pro-choice position.” In a statement, Bourdeaux asked Hulu to “drop this dangerous and outrageous ban on pro-choice advertising.”

“Hulu is one of the most impactful platforms for advertising to young voters,” Democratic Pollster and Strategist Matt McDermott wrote on Twitter. “By blocking ads on issues like climate change and abortion, Hulu is effectively censoring Democrats from engaging a massive swath of voters on the most critical issues facing our country.”

The controversy comes shortly after The Walt Disney Company, which owns 66% of Hulu, signaled to advertisers in May that political and alcohol ads will not be accepted on streaming service Disney+ when it launches an ad-supported version later this year.