It seems that the global euphoria that followed Netflix expansion into 130 countries (Pakistan included) is about to be short lived. Like many users of Netflix in most territories, we found that the content available for us at Netflix was limited at best. This gave rise to use of proxies and workarounds to access the entire Netflix catalogue of shows and movies.
But no longer will this run of unrestricted access will be allowed. Netflix has recently announced that it intends to crack down on users streaming its shows and movies via proxy.
Proxies help in spoofing a person’s IP address, making it so that you’re accessing internet from another country. Netflix servers would be tricked this way into thinking that you were a user from US when the reality was otherwise. But in the wake of Netflix Everywhere, Netflix is now going to enforce certain measures that respect the geographic content restrictions it usually has in place.
Given the historic practice of licensing content by geographic territories, the TV shows and movies we offer differ, to varying degrees, by territory. We will continue to respect and enforce content licensing by geographic location. – David Fullagar, Vice President of Content Delivery Architecture at Netflix
Netflix will be rolling out proxy detectors that continue to ‘evolve.’ Its not a new concept by any stretch, with many other firms deploying similar measures to sniff out geographical snafus. Hulu and iPlayer also have combated proxy users the same way. However Netflix still offers the choice of content that is officially licensed, unlike Hulu.
The company for its part doesn’t want users to feel left out though. They say they’re working on licensing their entire catalogue worldwide. However, with 190 countries in the mix, its anyone’s guess how long that legal process will take.
Are you disappointed by this move? Will it affect your decision to continue using Netflix in the near future? Sound off below.