Netflix cracking down on VPNs

Netflix is finally cracking down on VPN, proxy and unblocker users, requiring they disable the location masking services to view content on the site.

Subscribers that now use proxies to view content outside their countries will only be able to access the service in their own countries in the coming week, the company said.

Bloomberg also reported that the move to block illegal users comes in after Netflix launched its service in more than 130 new countries last week including India, Nigeria, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Netflix said at the time that all of its shows would not be available immediately to subscribers in certain countries, but that it was working towards resolving that.

“For those of you who rely on TorGuard VPN service to unblock Netflix content unrestricted, you don’t have to worry”, TorGuard wrote in a blog post.

We look forward to offering all of our content everywhere and to consumers being able to enjoy all of Netflix without using a proxy. On the surface, it may seem if a person is paying the respective fee to get Netflix access, he or she should not be hindered by content restrictions.

Netflix plans to use tools that can determine whether users are trying to access content through alternative means.

TorGuard and other VPN providers will be able to keep switching Internet addresses of their VPNs faster than Netflix will want to block them.

By going global, Netflix has more geographic content licensing issues to deal with.

“Given the historic practice of licensing content by geographic territories, the TV shows and movies we offer differ, to varying degrees, by territory”, Netflix VP of Content Delivery Architecture David Fullagar noted in the blog post.

“Even the Chinese government is unable to block data leaking via VPN or proxy, so what chance does a private company like Netflix have?” he asked.

These work by tricking the streaming service’s systems into thinking that they’re in a different country than they’re actually in.

“I will consider a VPN as the USA content is more extensive”. The activity, though, is expected to continue as Netflix’s full range of television shows and films are not available in all parts of the world owing to content rights.