Amazon apologises after child watches 15-rated film instead of rented PG title

Amazon apologized after an error caused a child to stream a 15-rated film instead of the PG title they had rented on Prime Video. The family had paid to rent Diary of a Wimpy Kid from Prime Video, but the player began streaming Love & Other Drugs, a film rated 15 by the British Board of Film Classification for strong sexual content. The incident prompted a finding by Ofcom, which said Amazon breached its rules, though the company said the issue was resolved in less than 48 hours and that it had updated internal processes to prevent a recurrence. The BBC has approached Amazon for comment.

The lapse appears to have affected a number of customers during the window when the mislabelled stream was available. Ofcom’s investigation notes that the complainant said they had rented Diary of a Wimpy Kid for their children to watch, but the content that began playing was Love & Other Drugs. The complainant said they contacted Amazon by phone three times without receiving a callback before taking the matter to Ofcom. The regulator said parents and carers would have reasonably assumed that Diary of a Wimpy Kid was suitable for children to view, potentially unaccompanied by an adult. In the regulator’s view, that expectation was not met in this instance, and the incident was not isolated to a single customer.

Amazon attributed the error to a misalignment in the codes used by licensors. Both films were assigned the same backend code behind the scenes, even though the ratings were intended to be unique. The company said it has since separated the codes and updated its internal checks to prevent similar cross-title mix-ups in the future. The issue was resolved in under two days, and Amazon said it has strengthened its processes to ensure that content recommendations and playback align with the parental controls and the explicit ratings attached to each title.

Ofcom did not impose a financial penalty in this case, but it said the breach highlights the potential risk to households relying on streaming services to enforce age-appropriate viewing. Regulators noted that the incident underscores the complexity of content classification when multiple titles are licensed from different rights holders and distributed through a single platform. Amazon emphasized its commitment to protecting young viewers and noted that it has enacted changes to prevent a repeat, including enhanced verification steps when linking licensor codes to titles. The company also indicated that the BBC’s inquiry is part of its ongoing practice of engaging with media partners and regulators to improve service safety for families.

In addition, a second visual is included to provide broader context around the topic of streaming and content classification. The incident has prompted renewed debate about how digital platforms categorize and enforce age ratings across diverse licensors. Industry observers say the episode serves as a reminder that even with automated systems, human oversight and robust cross-checks remain essential for ensuring that a household’s expectations about what is suitable for children are respected. As Prime Video and other services continue to expand their catalogs and licensing networks, regulators and families alike will be watching how platforms manage rating data, playback rights, and age-appropriate access in real time.