The password sharing on streaming services is nothing new and attempts to Netflix of limiting this practice in recent months are well documented. But now one new piracy guide published by the UK government suggests that share Netflix passwords, Prime Video o Disney+ in the United Kingdom could violate copyright law – and even incur criminal charges for fraud.
Sharing your Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ password may become illegal (in the UK)
As first reported by TorrentFreakthe British Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has updated its piracy guidelines stating that “sharing passwords on streaming services” can legally be considered an act that “violates copyright law”.
TorrentFreak contacted the IPO to clarify the legality of password sharing and the agency responded as follows: “There are a number of criminal and civil law provisions that may apply to password sharing where the intent is to allow a user to access works protected by copyright without paying”.
“Such provisions may include breach of contract terms, fraud or secondary copyright infringement, depending on the circumstances,” the IPO continues.
In other words, whoever shares passwords of UK streaming services could be legally prosecuted for fraud and/or violation of copyright lawalthough it is worth noting that the probability, in our opinion, it is very low.
In any case, while the password sharing doesn’t risk landing you behind bars in the UK or elsewhere anytime soon, the UK government’s official line on the legality of this behavior will give Netflix the confidence – and the legal mandate – to carry out his ambitious plans to introduce account sharing surcharges in 2023.
Finally it is believed that if the drastic action of Netflix were to show a significant increase in revenues in the months following its introduction, there is a risk that Disney + and Prime Video will also decide to do the same. For further content related to Netflixyou can consult the official website.