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Netflix stepping up efforts to geo-lock licensed content

Netflix has announced new measures to halt the practice of region jumping, often used by subscribers to access content that isn’t licensed to be streamed in their location.

In a a blog post on Thursday, the streaming giant says it is implementing counter measures to prevent people using proxies and unlocking tools.

In the coming weeks, the firm says, the changes will see members only able to access content available in their own countries, regardless of the numerous workarounds available.

David Fullagar, VP of Content Delivery Architecture, who did not go into specifics over how the new measures will work, said the change will not impact members who aren’t trying to bypass the location detectors.  

He wrote: (via VentureBeat): “Some members use proxies or “unblockers” to access titles available outside their territory. To address this, we employ the same or similar measures other firms do. This technology continues to evolve and we are evolving with it.

That means in coming weeks, those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are. We are confident this change won’t impact members not using proxies.”

Related: Netflix vs Amazon Prime

Fullagar says the company hopes such measures won’t be necessary as it seeks to make licensed content available in all 190 countries where Netflix is available.

“We look forward to offering all of our content everywhere and to consumers being able to enjoy all of Netflix without using a proxy. That’s the goal we will keep pushing towards.”

Should Netflix’s measures prove successful – and in our experience, there’s always a way around them – would the inability to access content from another region cause you to unsubscribe?

Share your thoughts below.

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