{"id":25951,"date":"2022-12-26T19:06:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T19:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/26\/uk-ip-office-tries-to-claim-netflix-password-sharing-is-illegal\/"},"modified":"2022-12-26T19:06:19","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T19:06:19","slug":"uk-ip-office-tries-to-claim-netflix-password-sharing-is-illegal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/26\/uk-ip-office-tries-to-claim-netflix-password-sharing-is-illegal\/","title":{"rendered":"UK IP Office Tries To Claim Netflix Password Sharing Is Illegal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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from the password-sharing-is-the-devil<\/i> dept<\/h3>\n

The UK Government\u2019s Intellectual Property Office published new piracy guidance this week claiming that Netflix password sharing is illegal.<\/p>\n

Back when Netflix was a pesky upstart trying to claw subscribers away from entrenched cable providers, the company had a\u00a0pretty lax approach<\/a>\u00a0to users who shared streaming passwords. At one point CEO Reed Hastings went so far as to say he \u201cloved<\/a>\u201d password sharing, seeing it as akin to free advertising. The idea was that as kids or friends got on more stable footing (left home to job hunt, whatever), they\u2019d inevitably get hooked on the service and purchase their own subscription.<\/p>\n

But as Netflix subscription numbers have begun to go south and competitors are challenging Netflix\u2019s market share and revenue, the company is predictably taking a harder stance on the practice. That has involved nickel-and-diming paying subscribers to pay more money, but it also apparently involves urging governments to conflate password sharing with piracy.<\/p>\n

On cue, the UK\u2019s new piracy guidance does exactly that<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere are a range of provisions in criminal and civil law which may be applicable in the case of password sharing where the intent is to allow a user to access copyright-protected works without payment. These provisions may include breach of contractual terms, fraud or secondary copyright infringement, depending on the circumstances. Where these provisions are provided in civil law, it would be up to the service provider to take action through the courts if required.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Shortly after the UK government issued the guidance it backtracked without explanation<\/a>. I\u2019d assume that\u2019s only temporary, as this campaign to demonize password sharing is ramping up across most of Netflix\u2019s territories. When contacted by the BBC, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) didn\u2019t rule out prosecuting folks for password sharing, though a police investigation would be needed first:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAny decision to charge someone for sharing passwords for streaming services would be looked at on a case-by-case basis, with due consideration of the individual context and facts of each case. As with all cases, if they are referred to the CPS by an investigator for a charging decision, our duty is to bring prosecutions where there is sufficient evidence to do so and when a prosecution is required in the public interest.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is, as is most of the hand-wringing about password sharing, dumb. Here\u2019s the thing: corporations like Netflix and HBO spent the better part of a decade normalizing and encouraging password sharing. They adored it. <\/p>\n

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Now that they\u2019re facing greater competition and tighter margins, they want to pivot on a dime and blame password sharing for most of their problems. And they want the government to help them. Apparently by pretending that loaning your credentials to a friend or your college kid is downright villainous, and by comically overstating<\/a> the financial impact password sharing is having on their bottom lines. <\/p>\n

Netflix already imposes routine price hikes. And it already technically monetizes password sharing by limiting the number of simultaneous streams per account, charging you more money if you want more simultaneous streams. As such the password sharing crackdown is a nickel-and-diming effort from a company that\u2019s trying to make up for subscriber losses by soaking the customers that remain. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re noticing a lot of egomania, fuzzy numbers, and wishful thinking on Netflix\u2019s part, that\u2019s because as Netflix grew and shifted from innovation to turf protection, it\u00a0joined the Motion Picture Association<\/a>\u00a0and adopted much of the broader cable, broadcast, and entertainment industry\u2019s (sometimes facts-optional) rhetoric surrounding the\u00a0diabolical menace<\/a>\u00a0that is password sharing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d imagine there will be plenty more facts-optional hyperventilation on this subject in the new year, both in the US and UK, as streaming giants get government officials all hot and bothered. <\/p>\n

\nFiled Under: cable tv<\/a>, copyright<\/a>, password sharing<\/a>, piracy<\/a>, streaming<\/a>, uk<\/a>, uk ipo<\/a>, video<\/a>
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Companies: netflix<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n