Netflix cracks down on proxy servers to come to grips with out-of-market streaming after global launch
Netflix isn’t happy about out-of-market streaming, and a crackdown is coming within weeks.
Proxy servers are common among streaming enthusiasts who want to be able to watch content not available in your home country. By using proxies, you can trick the streaming service that video is being shown in a different country than it really is, unlocking huge amounts of content that would otherwise be unavailable.
Netflix became available essentially across the globe, except China, as the streaming giant announced its launch in 130 new countries at CES two weeks ago.
“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,” wrote David Fullagar, vice president of content delivery architecture at Netflix, in a blog post.
Netflix’s varying licence agreements with media companies across the world mean content can often only be distributed in certain regions. But millions of users are using proxy servers to circumvent these restrictions.
To come to grips with this issue, Netflix is rolling out new features within the next couple of weeks, Fullagar writes:
Those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are.