The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an organization that matters in the world of entertainment. It represents the interests of the largest Hollywood studios and streaming platforms such as Netflix, Paramount, Warner Bros, and Disney+. Also, the position of this lobby against a proposed law which plans to prevent these services from prohibiting account sharing does not go unnoticed. Explanations.
A project that creates a stir
Netflix and Disney+ have in fact started to crack down on the sharing of passwords between people who do not live in the same home. Enough to generate complaints from customers all over the world and particularly in Brazil.
Parliamentarians have therefore tabled a text which aims to “prohibit on-demand content providers from charging extra or blocking access to shared accounts in a location other than users’ homes”.
The idea is to let family members who sometimes live on the other side of the country be able to continue to use their streaming subscription if they wish. Netflix and its rivals would no longer be able to charge additional fees for these shares.
With this project, elected officials agree with the point of view of the director of the Brazilian government consumer protection agency, Rainer Grigolo. The latter has indeed explained in the past:
If a streaming service contract allows two simultaneous screens, for example, it is not up to the provider to define the degree of relationship and the residential address. After all, the contract is not tied to an address as is the case with cable television.
Netflix and its rivals risk big
As one can imagine, the MPA was moved by this proposed law. Quoted by our colleagues from TorrentFreakthe organization indicates that it opposes “to these restrictions, as they would not only impact suppliers’ revenues and general freedom of contract, but also weaken copyright enforcement. »
If the law ends up being adopted and implemented, the idea could catch on and some countries could imitate Brazil. The entertainment giants would then lose enormously. We also know that the end of free account sharing largely explains the very good figures obtained by Netflix over the last two years.
As a reminder, in 2023 a French parliamentarian tabled a bill aimed at prohibiting Netflix and platforms from imposing additional rates on its customers for sharing their accounts.
