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Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

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Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#51

Post by cdcarter »

kalleboo wrote: post #41
sfk wrote: post #39

In other news ( http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en008.html ): "Use of a JAPAN RAIL PASS is strictly limited to the signer (hereafter "you") only." Surely an outrageous clause like this one can only be the product of big corporations and corrupt politicians. What about "the right to travel"?

That's completely reasonable. As is Netflix putting "only one household" in their ToS. It'd be unreasonable if there was a specific law on the books in Japan that says if you loan out your rail pass you're branded a criminal (which in the case of Japan means you're deported for life) and get jail time, instead of them just taking it away from you and saying "you broke the terms, no more rail pass for you".

In most public transit systems I have had a pass on, they have the authority to fine you for trying to share a pass... That seems to be what this law is going for. Content providers currently only have the recourse of cutting you off, now they can fine.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#52

Post by cabalamat »

_delirium wrote: post #7
markwweaver wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a bit over dramatic. Just because the RIAA sponsored or endorsed a bill doesn't mean its necessarily a bad thing. Can you provide a reason why it's unreasonable for a company to want each person (or even household) who uses their service to have a separate subscription? That being said, I haven't read the bill, and only know what the article says about it.

Using criminal law to deal with it seems like a fairly over-the-top, dramatic step to take. It's not necessarily unreasonable for a company to want each person to have a separate subscription, and they can even mandate it in their terms of service, and take action to terminate the accounts of people violating it. But criminal prosecutions for sharing accounts?

> Using criminal law to deal with it seems like a fairly over-the-top, dramatic step to take.

Indeed. A company is perfectly entitled to want each member of a family to buy their services, what they are not (morally) entitled to is to use coercion (in the form of laws backed by threats of violence) to get people to do so.

A company is morally entitled only to that revenue that people would willingly give it in the absence of force or fraud.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#55

Post by _delirium »

lotharbot wrote: post #43

The actual bill [0] modifies Tennessee Code 39-14-104 [1] (reproduced in the bill at "Under present law") in order to include "entertainment services" as a subset of "services". Note that the bill does not make it illegal to share your password. It only makes it illegal to "avoid payment" or give services to "another not entitled" to them. Netflix TOS allow you to have up to six devices associated with your account,…

It's interesting that the law seems to conspicuously exclude from its definition of "services" any services provided to businesses. So, for example, it is not a criminal offense in TN if a client stiffs me on a contract programming or webdesign gig--- that remains a mere contract dispute. I can pursue it (if I wish) by bringing a civil suit, but the public prosecutor is not going to haul DeadbeatClientCorp into criminal court for stealing my services. Not sure why a Netflix TOS violation should be treated differently.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#56

Post by sorbus »

nextparadigms wrote: post #19
markwweaver wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a bit over dramatic. Just because the RIAA sponsored or endorsed a bill doesn't mean its necessarily a bad thing. Can you provide a reason why it's unreasonable for a company to want each person (or even household) who uses their service to have a separate subscription? That being said, I haven't read the bill, and only know what the article says about it.

RIAA is criminalizing a lot of things these days. When will it stop?

I'm guessing sometime around when everyone is legally required to have a camera and microphone attached to their head which note everything they see and hear and automatically charge them for any content that they view.

Of course, you would still have to buy movie tickets, DVDs, music, and so forth, despite then being charged every time you view them.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#57

Post by cruise02 »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #47

In other news, the lawnmowing industry has successfully lobbied the state government to pass a groundbreaking law making it a criminal offence to loan your lawnmower to a neighbour. The practice of lawnmowersharing is claimed, according to an industry-funded study, to cost the industry $10 billion a year in lost revenue. "Now that everyone who wants to enjoy a mowed lawn has to come clean and buy or rent their own la…

The scenarios you're describing seem a lot more like libraries loaning out physical copies of books, each of which can only be used by one person at a time. I think loaning out your NetFlix password is more akin to cable theft than to loaning out physical objects. If you're giving out your password to all of your friends, you're basically acting as a content distributor.

Still, I see no reason why this needs to be a law. NetFlix terms of service should cover it.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#58

Post by bartonfink »

lotharbot wrote: post #31
jim_h wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They already limit the number of concurrent streaming videos. Last time I checked, N == 1. (Other packages might have different options.)

one-disc plans allow one stream. two-disc plans allow two simultaneous streams. four streams is the maximum.

My wife and I have a one disc plan and have streamed two videos simultaneously.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#59

Post by lotharbot »

_delirium wrote: post #55
lotharbot wrote: post #43

The actual bill [0] modifies Tennessee Code 39-14-104 [1] (reproduced in the bill at "Under present law") in order to include "entertainment services" as a subset of "services". Note that the bill does not make it illegal to share your password. It only makes it illegal to "avoid payment" or give services to "another not entitled" to them. Netflix TOS allow you to have up to six devices associated with your account,…

It's interesting that the law seems to conspicuously exclude from its definition of "services" any services provided to businesses. So, for example, it is not a criminal offense in TN if a client stiffs me on a contract programming or webdesign gig--- that remains a mere contract dispute. I can pursue it (if I wish) by bringing a civil suit, but the public prosecutor is not going to haul DeadbeatClientCorp into crimi…

I'm not seeing where services delivered to businesses are exempted.

Tennessee Code 39-14-127 (a)(2) is pretty explicit about being stiffed for services.

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