NetFlix tip

[batoncolle]

You are using it to watch content that you and Netflix do not have the United States streaming rights.

It does not matter what you think, but what your contract with Netflix and international law says.

No. You log onto a paid account with a VPN. In fact I have to say you'd be pretty dumb to not use a VPN, or at least some sort of security, in this day and age. Are you suggesting people shouldn't use a VPN???

If Netflix wishes to prevent this, there is a very simple and easy technical way to do it that has nothing to do with a VPN. Hell they could also start with preventing it SPECIFICALLY with their terms of service, but they don't even do that. And again are you suggesting people don't use a VPN??? Cuz I really want to here your self righteous explanation for that one...

 

[kdonnel]

No. You log onto a paid account with a VPN. In fact I have to say you'd be pretty dumb to not use a VPN, or at least some sort of security, in this day and age. Are you suggesting people shouldn't use a VPN???

If Netflix wishes to prevent this, there is a very simple and easy technical way to do it that has nothing to do with a VPN. Hell they could also start with preventing it SPECIFICALLY with their terms of service, but they don't even do that. And again are you suggesting people don't use a VPN??? Cuz I really want to here your self righteous explanation for that one...

Whether you want to admit it or not, using a VPN to appear in a different country to be presented with a different streaming catalog is violating copyright law.

What you are doing is just as illegal as walking into Publix, grabbing some meat, and walking out.

There is nothing wrong with using a VPN. There is nothing wrong with using Netflix. There is something wrong with using a VPN to break the law.

Netflix and Distributors

It’s copyright law that’s mainly responsible for creating almost 200 Netflixes. Though the service is producing more and more of its own content now, the majority of what it has on offer is still made and distributed by others. This means that these companies, in turn, get a say in what gets shown where.

This is often because Netflix isn’t the only party showing TV shows and movies. Many distributors have deals in place with networks in countries that give away exclusive viewing rights. Distributors can hardly sell the same rights twice, meaning that Netflix may be allowed to show Burn Notice in the U.S., say, it can’t show it in the Netherlands, where a local TV network holds those rights.

This system of licensing creates a weird patchwork of what’s available and what is not in different countries. U.S. subscribers have by far the largest library available to them, while some markets were well and truly sewn up before Netflix even came on the scene.

It’s these distributors who determine what gets shown where, Netflix itself has precious little say in the matter and has admitted it would rather just show everything everywhere; as you can imagine, there are more than a few companies who oppose this.

 

[batoncolle]

Whether you want to admit it or not, using a VPN to appear in a different country to be presented with a different streaming catalog is violating copyright law.

What you are doing is just as illegal as walking into Publix, grabbing some meat, and walking out.

There is nothing wrong with using a VPN. There is nothing wrong with using Netflix. There is something wrong with using a VPN to break the law.

Netflix and Distributors

It’s copyright law that’s mainly responsible for creating almost 200 Netflixes. Though the service is producing more and more of its own content now, the majority of what it has on offer is still made and distributed by others. This means that these companies, in turn, get a say in what gets shown where.

This is often because Netflix isn’t the only party showing TV shows and movies. Many distributors have deals in place with networks in countries that give away exclusive viewing rights. Distributors can hardly sell the same rights twice, meaning that Netflix may be allowed to show Burn Notice in the U.S., say, it can’t show it in the Netherlands, where a local TV network holds those rights.

This system of licensing creates a weird patchwork of what’s available and what is not in different countries. U.S. subscribers have by far the largest library available to them, while some markets were well and truly sewn up before Netflix even came on the scene.

It’s these distributors who determine what gets shown where, Netflix itself has precious little say in the matter and has admitted it would rather just show everything everywhere; as you can imagine, there are more than a few companies who oppose this.

Bull****. Show me the law. I will go as far to say there is no law that prohibits users of a service from accessing content that is otherwise barred by that service due to broadcast rights agreements. At worst it's a gray area. "Even in the U.S., lawyers tell Bloomberg BNA that the law is unclear as to whether users circumventing geoblocks to watch streaming content are infringing." This is not downloading pirated content you didn't pay for.

Again there is nothing in the Netlix Terms of Use that SPECIFICALLY prohibits the use of a VPN. And again it is very easy for Netflix to stop this outside of the VPN if it were illegal - VERY EASY. I'm still waiting for you to tell me why people can't use a VPN to login to a paid service, and your made up "laws" aren't a good enough reason.

 

[kdonnel]

If you created content and licensed that content only to be viewed in the UK and were in the process of reaching an agreement with a content provider in the US and people were using a VPN to pretend to be in the UK to watch the content you would be pissed.

But you see it as a victimless crime so you don't care.

https://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse

6.c:
You may view Netflix content through the Netflix service primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer our service and have licensed such Netflix content. The content that may be available to watch will vary by geographic location. Netflix will use technologies to verify your geographic location. THE NUMBER OF DEVICES ON WHICH YOU MAY SIMULTANEOUSLY WATCH IS LIMITED. Go to the change plan information in the "Your Account" page to see the number of devices on which you may simultaneously watch. The number of devices available for use and the simultaneous streams may change from time to time at our discretion.

You are violating the Netflix Terms of Use by circumventing the blocks they have put in place to prevent you from watching other then the content provided for the country in which you have established your account or are actually located.

 

[batoncolle]

If you created content and licensed that content only to be viewed in the UK and were in the process of reaching an agreement with a content provider in the US and people were using a VPN to pretend to be in the UK to watch the content you would be pissed.

But you see it as a victimless crime so you don't care.

https://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse

6.c:
You may view Netflix content through the Netflix service primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer our service and have licensed such Netflix content. The content that may be available to watch will vary by geographic location. Netflix will use technologies to verify your geographic location. THE NUMBER OF DEVICES ON WHICH YOU MAY SIMULTANEOUSLY WATCH IS LIMITED. Go to the change plan information in the "Your Account" page to see the number of devices on which you may simultaneously watch. The number of devices available for use and the simultaneous streams may change from time to time at our discretion.

You are violating the Netflix Terms of Use by circumventing the blocks they have put in place to prevent you from watching other then the content provided for the country in which you have established your account or are actually located.

No I don't see it as a victimless crime BECAUSE IT ISN'T A CRIME. You don't seem to care that you're making things up to justify your emotions, but by all means please continue...

You can't show me a law, and you've just shown the Netflix Terms of Use that does not SPECIFICALLY prohibit the use of a VPN. Again there is nothing in the Netlix Terms of Use that SPECIFICALLY prohibits the use of a VPN. And again it is very easy for Netflix to stop this outside of the VPN if it were illegal - VERY EASY. And I'm still waiting for you to tell me why people can't use a VPN to login to a paid service...

 

[albatros43]

I like how everything online becomes an argument.

 

[batoncolle]

I like how everything online becomes an argument.

No it doesn't...

 

[albatros43]

No it doesn't...

Kidding aside, and I don't care what you watch, but I don't think you're on the right side of this one. It's as simple as "Does Netflix want you watching foreign content that it doesn't have rights for in the US?". I think the answer is clearly no. You seem to think that just because you found a way to "hide your location" per your original post and find a way around it makes it ok because they aren't restricting the use of a VPN. Just because you can do something and it isn't explicitly illegal doesn't make it right. Carry on.

Oh, and do you watch Netflix with your computer? I imagine most people watch it on a SmartTV or streaming device, so I'm not sure how you'd insert the VPN in that equation. Asking for a friend.....

 

[Ars21689]

I honestly started off thinking this may at worst be somewhat unethical but after reading 6c I don't even think that. There's nothing in there about VPN usage and if they're not bothering to protect against it that's their issue.

 

[batoncolle]

Kidding aside, and I don't care what you watch, but I don't think you're on the right side of this one. It's as simple as "Does Netflix want you watching foreign content that it doesn't have rights for in the US?". I think the answer is clearly no. You seem to think that just because you found a way to "hide your location" per your original post and find a way around it makes it ok because they aren't restricting the use of a VPN. Just because you can do something and it isn't explicitly illegal doesn't make it right. Carry on.

Oh, and do you watch Netflix with your computer? I imagine most people watch it on a SmartTV or streaming device, so I'm not sure how you'd insert the VPN in that equation. Asking for a friend.....

No I didn't find a way to hide my location. I have been using Netflix since the first year they came out, and I've been using VPNs even longer. Netflix didn't even start trying to block VPNs until 2016 because of THEIR content licensing, and it pissed a lot of people for a very good reason. "Digital rights group Open Media says that Netflix is putting users at risk by forcing them to access the service without VPNs. “If Netflix does need to enforce, as we would see it as, content restriction, there have to be better ways to do it,”

I posted an article above explaining how at worst, it's a gray area. Here's an article telling you it's legal. Even the leftist HuffPo will tell you it's legal. And here's Forbes explaining how another system can be built to get around it. And there are plenty more articles to be found explaining it. There are even reports all over the web where people contact Netflix directly and ask them if it's legal.

Again Netflix can simply put in their terms of use that you can't use VPNs, but they probably will never do it because it forces people to drop their security, and they will lose customers. They would lose me. Or again there is a very simple way to do it without going through the VPN, but again nothing...

Oh and plug your computer into your TV with an HDMI cable. At least that's what a friend told me they did...