Officials insist, with complete justification, that it will take all of us to slow the spread. Maine Sen. Angus King has thought up a creative new expression for that team effort. Creative, though, doesn’t always mean good.

The senator wrote the top dogs of several streaming services, recognizing the “unique role that [their] companies play in providing content-based activities this holiday season,” and asked them to let people watch for free as an incentive to stay home rather than participate in holiday gatherings. “Content-based activity” sounds kind of formal, but it just means watching TV.