As the initial excitement of Netflix launching globally fades into disappointment at the meager film offerings in many countries, the online streaming giant has declared open war on VPNs that allow customers to skirt the geographic restrictions on content.
"Some members use proxies or 'unblockers' to access titles available outside their territory. To address this, we employ the same or similar measures other firms do. This technology continues to evolve and we are evolving with it," Netflix Vice President David Fullagar said in a blog post in January. "That means in coming weeks, those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are. We are confident this change won’t impact members not using proxies."
VPNs, or virtual private networks, allow an Internet user to redirect his online activity through a remote server, camouflaging his actual location. The use of VPNs prevents websites and online services from tracking their users back to their actual location, an added level of privacy for the security conscious. But this privacy also breaks the geographic blocking of content; by using a VPN based in the United States, a user can trick Netflix into thinking he is in the U.S., giving him access to 5,750 films and TV shows instead of the sad 157 films that Moroccans have access to .
Netflix has periodically warned it would block VPNs and proxies, to little effect. But it seems that this time the company is serious; customers around the world are reporting being blocked or banned from the service after having used VPNs to access American or European selections for years.
Nearly 40,000 people have signed a petition called "My Netflix, My Privacy" calling on the company to stop blocking VPNs. While that petition focuses on the privacy implications of banning VPNs, the company views this as a content licensing issue.
"If all of our content were globally available, there wouldn’t be a reason for members to use proxies or 'unblockers' to fool our systems into thinking they’re in a different country than they’re actually in," Fullagar said. "We are making progress in licensing content across the world and, as of last week, now offer the Netflix service in 190 countries, but we have a ways to go before we can offer people the same films and TV series everywhere."
While the company is working to fix this imbalance through new licensing deals, it is still charging the same price worldwide – even in countries with access to less than 10 percent of its full library.
Despite the progress, a number of VPN services say they are still able to provide access to Netflix, giving the "pirates" a bit longer to enjoy "House of Cards."