Sharing your Netflix, Prime Video or Disney Plus password could make you a criminal

Date:
Tue, 20 Dec 2022 18:32:10 +0000

Description:
The UK government has issued worrying new guidance on the legalities of sharing streaming service passwords.

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Password sharing on streaming services is nothing new, and Netflixs attempts to limit the practice in recent months are well-documented. Now, though, new piracy guidance issued by the British government suggests anyone sharing passwords in the UK could be in breach of copyright law and even face criminal charges for fraud.

As first reported by TorrentFreak , Britains Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has updated its piracy guidance to assert that password sharing on streaming services which includes the likes of Netflix , Prime Video and Disney Plus can legally be deemed an act that break[s] copyright law.

TorrentFreak reached out to the IPO for clarification on the legalities of password sharing, and the agency replied as follows: There are a range of provisions in criminal and civil law which may be applicable in the case of password sharing where the intent is to allow a user to access copyright protected works without payment.

These provisions may include breach of contractual terms, fraud or secondary copyright infringement depending on the circumstances," the IPO continued.

In other words, those sharing streaming service passwords in the UK could legally be prosecuted for fraud and/or breaches of copyright law though its worth noting that the likelihood, in our opinion, is very slim. (Image
credit: Shutterstock / Elliott Cowand Jr)

For starters, the bar for what constitutes an act of fraud in the UK is low. The countrys 2006 Fraud Act notes that using the services of a members club without paying and without being a member is deemed fraud, as is posting chargeable data or software over the internet without paying. Both offences are commonplace how many times have you reposted someone elses work on
social media? and although the practice of password sharing could fall into either category, its highly unlikely that the Crown Prosecution Service would pursue anyone for wanting to share Stranger Things with their friends.

Publicly aligning with such draconian action would also spell reputational disaster for streaming services that have actively encouraged password
sharing in the past (as recently as 2017, Netflix tweeted love is sharing a password").

However, while password sharing isnt likely to put you behind bars in the UK or anywhere else any time soon, the British governments official line on the legalities of such behavior will give Netflix the confidence and the legal mandate to follow through with its ambitious plans to introduce account sharing surcharges in 2023.

It wouldnt be a surprise to see the likes of Prime Video and Disney Plus follow suit, too, if Netflixs drastic action reaps a significant revenue
boost in the months following its rollout.

For more Netflix-related content, check out our breakdown of Netflix's cheaper, ad-supported tier , as well as its new remote logout feature .



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/sharing-your-netflix-prime-video-or-disney-plus -password-could-make-you-a-criminal


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