A new court ruling has some people fearing that sharing a Netflix password could land them behind bars: We're telling them to chill.
Last week, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that sharing login passwords can constitute a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The case in question surrounded an ex-employee at executive search firm Korn/Ferry International who used the login information of another employee at the company to pull information to launch a competing firm.
The case provides a precedent for password sharing under CFAA, and has everyone who uses their ex's friend's former dog's owner's Netflix password a bit on edge. But fear not, frugal password sharers of the internet, as the ruling will not lead to your incarceration. As Slate pointed out, the majority opinion in the case clearly states that the "appeal is not about password sharing."
Even with that opinion, though, CFAA is a 30-year-old law that is pretty vague in the modern digital landscape. But given how harmless password sharing is among streaming services, you can rest easy that your binge-watching habit will not lead to time behind bars. The CEO of Netflix publicly stated that account sharing on the service is not a huge issue, and the CEO of HBO said that while password sharing isn't encouraged on HBO GO, the number of users that share passwords "really isn't significant."
So carry on, resourceful TV and film aficionados. Don't stop watching Master of None on your cousin's Neflix account. Feel free to give your neighbor your HBO login so they can catch up on Game of Thrones. We're in the Golden Age of television, and there's no reason why everyone shouldn't be able to partake—even if last week's ruling puts a murky cloud over the whole situation.
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