Your days of accessing the American Netflix catalogue through a VPN are numbered, as the streaming service amends its terms of service to restrict access.
With many international subscribers making use of Virtual Private Networks to access content not licensed in their own country, Netflix has outlined new plans to crack down on sneaky VPN users, as reported by The Independent.
Under the new terms of service, users found unlawfully accessing content through a VPN could have their accounts terminated or restricted “without compensation or notice”.
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Although VPNs are used for a number of legitimate purposes, when it comes to their use alongside Netflix, it usually relates to the unpermitted access to geographically restricted content.
Following the amendments, Article 6C of the latest Netflix Ts&Cs states users “may view a movie or TV show 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 movie or TV show.”
It continues: “The content that may be available to watch will vary by geographic location. Netflix will use technologies to verify your geographic location.”
Highlighting how those caught flouting the rules will be punished, Article 6H adds: “We may terminate or restrict your use of our service, without compensation or notice if you are, or if we suspect you are (i) in violation of any of these Terms of Use or (ii) engaged in illegal or improper use of the service.”
The Netflix catalogue varies from region to region, with some territories licensing content otherwise unavailable in other.
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The crackdown on VPN usage comes just days after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings suggested the company could overcome VPN restrictions by offering a global content catalogue.
He stated: “The basic solution is for Netflix to get global and have its content be the same all around the world so there’s no incentive to [use a VPN].”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
