Have you ever felt that the flood of new media streaming platforms like Disney+, Paramount+ and Showtime, AppleTV+, Youtube Premium, Starz, HBO Max and Discovery+ (now named MAX), Mubi, and so on and so on… ever just got too much for you? So much so that you wanted to cut that virtual cord and sail the high seas of the web for some free alternatives?
Well you would not be the only one as many others have due to Netflix’s new restrictions on account and password sharing as detailed late last year.
Netflix's New Plans
Netflix said that plans to launch in the United States a new fee for accounts that are spread across multiple homes, a similar plan already existed in certain Latin American countries (Spangler, 2022). Yet this news has made current Netflix users worried as there are over 100 million accounts that share accounts (Netflix, 2023). This new program would force users to pay more if other users use their accounts on other networks.
Although streaming services, such as Netflix do consider password and account sharing as a form of piracy, it has not been considered a viable threat to these companies until now (Aten, 2019). In fact, Netflix would cite their losses due to the combination of password sharing and piracy as the main reason why they are pushing out these stricter rules and fines. Estimates put the loss for streaming services due to these forms of piracy just over 9 billion dollars (Lee, 2022). Yet for viewers it doesn't matter if the companies lose or not, because at the end of the day these anti-piracy measures will cost the average viewer more, and for some they will seek other means to get their entertainment.
Brief History of Piracy
These alternate means would be returning back to the old tried and true methods of internet piracy. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Internet Piracy is when someone illegally downloads and shares copywrited material without permission from the original creator.
Online software piracy began during the 1990s on sites such as Napster and then Kazaa for music, and Limewire for videos (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2008). Users posted their own rips of DVDs and CDs for others to download and spread onto other platforms. These sites grew in popularity through the late 90s and early 2000s where the newness of the internet allowed users to mostly continue unobstructed by large media companies who lagged behind on their efforts to combat piracy.
Through the late aughts and early 2010's, as large media companies started to catch up with the quick-paced advancement of the internet they were able to combat these larger and more public pirating sites more effectively (Roos, 2008). Currently, pirating sites have become more decenturalized to avoid being shut down and blocked.
The Way Things are Now
Many of these users see this new payment program and the rise of dozens of new streaming platforms as a sign that it is becoming more expensive keeping up with all your favorite shows and series than even getting cable. It is no surprise then that many are turning back towards the old tried and true method of pirating, because getting everything you want for free is better than paying more for less.
In fact, a study published in the Computers in Human Behavior journal found that college students who already are subscribed to a music streaming service are more likely to also pirate music illegally as well (Borja, Daw, Dieringer, 2015). Although it is for music streaming it is not a stretch to see how similar these results could be to movie and TV streaming online, as it would require the same know-how to pirate content.
As of right now, Netflix has not currently rolled out their new password sharing restrictions, perhaps due to the near universal amount of backlash they received from all corners of the internet it may (hopefully) never come into fruition. Yet the damage of the announcement has already been done, and the amount of illegally downloaded Office episodes can never be un-downloaded.
Informative articles and videos from topics mentioned here:
Aten, J. (2019, November 27). Netflix isn't cool with password sharing anymore. why piracy ... - inc.com. INC.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/netflix-isnt-cool-with-password-sharing-anymore-why-piracy-is-about-to-be-next-battle-in-streaming-war.html
Borja, K., Dieringer, S., & Daw, J. (2015). The effect of music streaming services on music piracy among college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 69–66. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.088
Constitutional Rights Foundation. (2008). Bria 23 4 B digital piracy in the 21st Century. Constitutional Rights Foundation. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-23-4-b-digital-piracy-in-the-21st-century#:~:text=Then%20in%20the%201990s%2C%20new,data%20for%20images%20and%20music.
Lee, W. (2022, April 14). Why netflix and other streamers are cracking down on password sharing. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-04-14/password-sharing-netflix-apple-amazon-piracy
Netflix. (2023, February 8). An update on sharing. About Netflix. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://about.netflix.com/en/news/an-update-on-sharing
Roos, D. (2008, January 25). How limewire works. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://computer.howstuffworks.com/limewire.htm
Spangler, T. (2022, December 27). Why netflix 'crackdown' on password sharing won't actually put an end to illicit account borrowing. Variety. Retrieved March 30, 2023, from https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/netflix-crackdown-password-sharing-fees-1235472284/
YouTube. (2022). Digital Ownership And Piracy: What's Really Yours In A Digital World? YouTube. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMOxV6oyEeg&ab_channel=Technality.