Sharing Netflix passwords could be illegal, UK authorities say
Sharing passwords for streaming sites such as Netflix could be illegal, a British government agency has said, warning it could even land people in court.
We all know that TV and movie site loan accounts are incredibly common among many friends, families and let’s face it… exes.
While the streamer has never indicated that it plans to take legal action in such incidents, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has now said that sharing logins may actually be against the law.
According to the Guardian, the IPO published its advice on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ in a statement on Monday, December 19.
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It had originally explicitly referred to “password sharing on streaming devices”, but later changed the phrase to “accessing … without paying a subscription”.
However, a spokesperson confirmed that the agency’s legal position on the matter has not changed, nor has its guidance.
The spokesman said: “There are a number of criminal and civil law provisions that may apply in the case of password sharing where the intention is to allow a user to access copyrighted works without payment.
“These provisions may include breach of contract, fraud or secondary copyright infringement, depending on the circumstances.
“If these provisions are provided in civil law, it will be up to the service provider to take action through the courts if necessary.”
Advice now published on the official UK government website reads: “Piracy is a huge problem for the entertainment and creative industries.
“Pasting internet images on social media without permission, or accessing movies, TV shows or live sporting events through Kodi boxes, hacked Fire Sticks or apps without paying a subscription is a copyright violation and you could be committing a crime .”
In the wake of the IPO’s guidance, the Crown Prosecution has not ruled out potentially prosecuting users for password sharing.
A spokesperson told the BBC: “Any decision to charge someone for sharing streaming service passwords will be looked at on a case-by-case basis, with due regard to 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 prosecute where there is sufficient evidence to do so and where a prosecution is required in the public interest.”
Matt Ross, head of product at research firm Digital i, also told the outlet that account sharing ‘presents a huge challenge’ for sites like Netflix.
“Following the addition of the ad-supported tier, there is clearly an opportunity for Netflix to generate significant additional revenue by cracking down on account sharing and converting those who do so into subscribers themselves,” he said.
“However, the question remains: what motivates more households that share a premium account to do so?”
