Netflix takes another hit: Sharing passwords would be illegal

Sharing your Netflix password with one or more other users may be illegal. The UK government agency recently warned of this practice and made very clear the legal responsibilities this could entail. There is a lot of information to be confirmed and no serious action will be taken unless the police intervene and decide to bring the case to justice.

British government tightens legality of password sharing

British government’s Intellectual Property Office, also known as IPO Sharing Netflix passwords is an issue that needs to be addressed both criminally and legally.. According to the UK agency itself, “a range of criminal and civil provisions may apply in cases of password sharing whose purpose is to allow users to access copyrighted work without payment”. These terms may include breach of contract terms, fraud or minor copyright infringement – obviously it depends on the specific scenario and context.

BBC News asked if this meant that the Crown Prosecution Service, known as the CPS, could not only do this, but could. will file a criminal complaint against those who share passwords. “A decision to charge someone with sharing a password for a streaming service will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis,” a spokesperson for the prosecution said. “As in any case, if they are referred by investigators to the CPS for a decision to prosecute, our role is to prosecute when there is sufficient evidence and when the public interest warrants it.”

Netflix’s response to the UK’s decision

What does all this mean? It means, If Netflix decides to involve the police, it could go to court and thus turn into a criminal case.. The Intellectual Property Office entity has characterized each statement with assumptions and conditions, but Netflix has stated that it does not plan to file lawsuits against anyone. Instead, the American streaming platform said it plans to make it “easy” for people to create their own accounts and start “sub-accounts” in early 2023; this will allow people to pay extra money to share their subscription with their family and friends.