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Netflix had to crack down on VPN usage recently as people use them to bypass geographic content restrictions. Any suggestions on alternative options they could

Netflix had to crack down on VPN usage recently as people use them to bypass geographic content restrictions. Any suggestions on alternative options they could pursue? (Aside from somehow getting global broadcasting rights on their whole library)

bubblethink 9y ago
They didn't have to do anything. Netflix is a paid service. You are paying for a service, which you are entitled to get. What geo-drm-moon-phase recipe they cook up is their problem. As a consumer who pays, you should see either a) content from your billing address, or b) content from the IP address. Or any superset of the two; but NOT a banner asking you to disable your vpn.
- tqi 9y ago
  Netflix charges different amounts in different countries, which is why your subscription is tied to a geo.
- stanmancan 9y ago
  Netflix would LOVE to provide their whole catalogue to their whole subscriber base. They'd be crazy not to. The more content they can offer, the better their service, the more subscribers they'll get. They block VPN's and other tools because their contracts with content providers say so. It even says it right in their terms of use 4.3. You may view the Netflix content 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 content. Netflix is in the tough position of needing to know where you are -now-. VPN's mess with that. Don't get me wrong, requiring someone to disable a VPN to use the service is bullocks. But some services don't have much of an option. From what I understand Netflix is aggressively trying to obtain world-wide rights for their whole library, but until the old dog content producers get on board they'll have a rough time.
ihale 9y ago
Would they not be able to tie the location to the account? If, say, they register as a US user, an ip change from US, to France caused by VPN would leave little issue. Correct me if I am wrong.
- freeone3000 9y ago
  You're right, technically, but incorrect legally, because if you don't VPN and instead hop a plane to France, they just streamed US content to France. No-go.
Untit1ed 9y ago
They could be implementing blocking at the title level instead of on the whole site - so with a VPN I can't watch geofenced content but I can watch House of Cards, for instance.

bubblethink 9y ago

They didn't have to do anything. Netflix is a paid service. You are paying for a service, which you are entitled to get. What geo-drm-moon-phase recipe they cook up is their problem. As a consumer who pays, you should see either a) content from your billing address, or b) content from the IP address. Or any superset of the two; but NOT a banner asking you to disable your vpn.

tqi 9y ago
Netflix charges different amounts in different countries, which is why your subscription is tied to a geo.
stanmancan 9y ago
Netflix would LOVE to provide their whole catalogue to their whole subscriber base. They'd be crazy not to. The more content they can offer, the better their service, the more subscribers they'll get. They block VPN's and other tools because their contracts with content providers say so. It even says it right in their terms of use 4.3. You may view the Netflix content 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 content. Netflix is in the tough position of needing to know where you are -now-. VPN's mess with that. Don't get me wrong, requiring someone to disable a VPN to use the service is bullocks. But some services don't have much of an option. From what I understand Netflix is aggressively trying to obtain world-wide rights for their whole library, but until the old dog content producers get on board they'll have a rough time.

ihale 9y ago

Would they not be able to tie the location to the account? If, say, they register as a US user, an ip change from US, to France caused by VPN would leave little issue. Correct me if I am wrong.

freeone3000 9y ago
You're right, technically, but incorrect legally, because if you don't VPN and instead hop a plane to France, they just streamed US content to France. No-go.

Untit1ed 9y ago

They could be implementing blocking at the title level instead of on the whole site - so with a VPN I can't watch geofenced content but I can watch House of Cards, for instance.