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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

#71

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…

FYI in the 1800s, the publishing industry tried to shut down public libraries by lobbying governments to make it illegal for people to read books without first paying for them.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#72
post #23

I used to have a rosy glass over democracy as I came from China. However, news like this really pissed me off. A lot of those representatives are not working for the people who voted them, but rather the big corporates or whichever lobby groups. How come lobbying is even legal in the first place? It's actually glorified bribery. Please forgive me if I'm being a bit cynical here.

It's not at all cynical. The issue here is that influential people get listened to more than regular problem, especially those who will invite their congressman onto their personal yacht to discuss matters. However, if you hold a democracy as true to its ideals as possible, than the opinions of the ignorant are as prominent as the knowledgeable. (The media already promotes the ignorant heavily, but that's another iss…

It's not at all cynical. The issue here is that influential people get listened to

Should be a period right there!

How many people protesting this online will actually write their congressperson and complain? Lobbyists get listened to because they say something. It's hard for someone to hear you if you're silent!

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Don't Netflix servers block you from accessing content from different devices using same credentials simultaneously? That's pretty much a library situation.

You can stream on up to four devices at a time, depending on your plan.

I guess they assume it will be in the same household or family, but it certainly doesn't have to be the same IP.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#74
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theft results in a perment loss. Tresspassing is probably much more apt. But, from the perspective of the online services there is a simple real world analogy that actually happens. Having 10+ people live in the same rented appartment. The lanlord is being paid, but his costs are larger than a single renter due to an increased useage of the property. Still, netflix is probably not the proponents of this law it's all…

I don't want to split hairs, but if I steal cable for a month, the cable company permanently loses the money I should have paid for a month of cable. Just because they don't lose the 1s and 0s they're selling doesn't mean there's no permanent loss. My apartment has a rental agreement about how many people are allowed to live there. If I break the agreement by allowing ten friends to live there I lose my apartment. If…

but you are making the mistake that you would have paid for the service if you did not pirate the cable.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to split hairs, but if I steal cable for a month, the cable company permanently loses the money I should have paid for a month of cable. Just because they don't lose the 1s and 0s they're selling doesn't mean there's no permanent loss. My apartment has a rental agreement about how many people are allowed to live there. If I break the agreement by allowing ten friends to live there I lose my apartment. If…

but you are making the mistake that you would have paid for the service if you did not pirate the cable.

I very clearly wrote should have paid, not would have paid.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

FYI in the 1800s, the publishing industry tried to shut down public libraries by lobbying governments to make it illegal for people to read books without first paying for them.

Did they want to make it illegal for people to read books without paying for them, or did they want to make it illegal to loan them out? There's a world of difference, particularly now that we're extrapolating that to digital media.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#77

"Republican Gov. Bill Haslam [who signed the bill] told reporters earlier this week that he wasn't familiar with the details of the legislation, but..." I feel like this says it all.

This is really all too common. You always hear politicians say things like "Well I'm not familiar with that issue specifically...so many pieces of legislation pass by my desk I really can't review them all." It's true that you can't expect one person to comprehend every issue at a deep level. But politicians shouldn't be rubber stamping things just to build up enough "credits" to get their next piece of legislation p…

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Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#78

"Republican Gov. Bill Haslam [who signed the bill] told reporters earlier this week that he wasn't familiar with the details of the legislation, but..." I feel like this says it all.

You know what, every time I hear such an excuse, I can't help thinking: well, why not a github for those laws. At least, we can "diff" them and follow up with who actually submitted the "patch". At least in that way we have certain accountability there.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#79

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…

Yeah, it's crazy!

Or what if, when you paid for a gym membership, they wouldn't let you lend your gym membership card to someone else so they could get in too? Or if you buy a parking permit for my car and they won't let you shift it to someone else's car when you're away? Or if you go to a buffet and get "all you can eat" and they won't let you give your food to three friends?

Oh wait, they already do that. In fact, pretty much any time you pay a membership fee for a "use this as much as you like" service, it's impossible and/or illegal to share your membership with other people. It's just common sense -- "all you can eat for a fixed price" business plans only work if you don't share.

Re: Tennessee Makes it Illegal To Share Your Netflix Password

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but you are making the mistake that you would have paid for the service if you did not pirate the cable.

I very clearly wrote should have paid, not would have paid.

I agree - should have paid. People will always try to extract the last ounce of value out of anything, businesses and individuals are guilty of this - I just don't like seeing businesses using their relative size advantage to gain a legal advantage over individuals.
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