Bell Media: Using VPNs to watch US Netflix elsewhere is stealing

[Aniallation]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bell-media-president-says-using-vpns-to-skirt-copyright-rules-is-stealing-1.3099972

 

 

I don't use Netflix, but I know many who do and many who use a VPN to watch US Netflix in Canada, and according to Bell Media's president, it's still piracy/stealing, even if you're paying for Netflix.

 

 

At a keynote speech at the Telecom Summit in Toronto on Wednesday, Mary Ann Turcke said Canadians who skirt copyright laws by finding ways of accessing digital content hurt Canadian culture and jobs and need to stop.

 

"It has to become socially unacceptable to admit to another human being that you are VPNing into U.S. Netflix," she said, "like throwing garbage out your car window — you just don't do it."

 

Streaming services like Netflix offer customers access to a list of content based on their location. Location is determined by a device's IP address, but a service known as a Virtual Private Network or VPN can fiddle with that and give Canadians, for example, access to Netflix's U.S. catalogue, which is perceived by many to have more, and better, content.

 

Rather than pushing for more regulation from government or the CRTC to ban the practice, she called on the industry to work together to root out the problem, and to insist that Canadians frown on it the same way they would many other types of illegal activity. Canadian television produces $6 billion a year to Canada's GDP and employs 125,000 people.

 

"Not only does society not scold anyone for stealing content — we feature 'how to' articles in our national newspapers educating the masses on how to get around copyright law."

 

 

[Uwillparish]

STEALING? YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DAMN THING YOU BUMBLING IDIOT

[Hoppa]

Why is it socially unacceptable to say you use a VPN?

You should be proud of it. Other people should envy you.

 

So much BS.

 

EDIT: The fact that we have to use a VPN in the first place to either protect ourselves or to access content that other people have access to is unacceptable.

[silberdrachi]

This feels like a no duh statement. There are legal reasons why some media is not being sold in different locals and Netflix is required to implement security so that they can support the deals they made with the media companies.

 

Netflix has to agree to these terms or they would never allow them to use any of their media. Don't blame Netflix for geo-blocking, blame the media companies for requiring it.

 

 

Why is it socially unacceptable to say you use a VPN?

You should be proud of it. Other people should envy you.

 

So much BS.

 

I use a VPN and i love it, but using a VPN to circumvent legal restrictions to watch tv is just stupid. (Edit: i should say i use my VPN to give me a measure of anonymity as well as increase speeds in some cases)

[Notree]

Well everyone I know with netflix is stealing then.Global restrictions only further piracy they should know this by now.

[Briggsy]

Bell doesn't like VPN's because their caching servers are useless with encrypted data going to and from a VPN, while regular domestic data is easy to cache and frees up congestion. 

 

That's what this is really about, Bell could care less about People streaming foreign content. It's nothing but a red herring to distract people from what they are really afraid of.

 

(and no, I don't use a VPN currently, so I'm not trying to justify it)

[MageTank]

We've been over this before people. Licensing and syndication fee's differ per service providers. Not only that, some content can be restricted in other countries. While you might be paying Netflix to view something they pay an American company for licensing, the company that owns the licensing and syndication in your country is not getting paid. Money that would have been paid to them is instead paid to someone else. 

 

While i do not think it is illegal to do so (Law's on VPN are pretty vague, and this would probably fall into a gray area if anything) you do have to understand how this works before you call BS. It does effect someone's profits at the end of the day, just like piracy.

[Misanthrope]

Or in other words: "NO I SAID NO, FUCK YOU BROWN PEOPLE WE DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY"

 

Seriously this is nothing but fear of fucking success at this point.

[Kyuubixchidori]

This feels like a no duh statement. There are legal reasons why some media is not being sold in different locals and Netflix is required to implement security so that they can support the deals they made with the media companies.

 

Netflix has to agree to these terms or they would never allow them to use any of their media. Don't blame Netflix for geo-blocking, blame the media companies for requiring it.

 

 

 

I use a VPN and i love it, but using a VPN to circumvent legal restrictions to watch tv is just stupid. (Edit: i should say i use my VPN to give me a measure of anonymity as well as increase speeds in some cases)

this^ some people are need to realize this is the real world. 

 

your breaking the law in some way or another. doesnt matter if we use the word stealing or not. theres just not much of a better word. lets put it this way,walk into the store. because of your age you can oldy buy pop/water. you are under the legal age to buy alcohol, and use a fake id to buy it, and don't get caught. you're not allowed to consume that content, and this case would be the alcohol.

 

best anology i could think off 

[Alurit]

"It has to become socially unacceptable to admit to another human being that you are VPNing into U.S. Netflix," she said, "like throwing garbage out your car window — you just don't do it."

 

No , region locking digital content has to stop.

[Dzzope]

Well everyone I know with netflix is stealing then.Global restrictions only further piracy they should know this by now.

Yes it causes issues.. but also different companies have the distribution rights to different areas... this is why it's such a big deal to them.. it's worth millions.

Then you have the issue of some countries it may cost less because the living wage is so much less... it's a numbers game and how to optimize them.

 

Is it a rip off if in the US you have to pay $20/m and in russia / asia / africa they pay less? Well not really because your wage and cost of living and their cost of operating is so much different.

[Trik'Stari]

I throw garbage out of my car window all the time. If this douchebag was in my car, I would throw him out the window before the garbage. And I'd make sure I was going above 90mph before doing so.

[gill2k]

Don't blame us common folk Canadians.  Blame the wonderful idiots at CRTC who decide what gets broadcast here.  I mean, FFS!  We don't even get US Super Bowl commercials because of those guys.

 

Or maybe she's just upset it's taking away subscribers from Bell?   :blink:

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

If it's not available anywhere here but it is on Netflix US, it's not lost revenue for the local providers. You can't lose money on something you're not selling anyway.

So I'll use a VPN and watch it on Netflix US regardless of what Bell's capo di tutti capi and the rest of the copyright mafia thinks.

[silberdrachi]

While i do not think it is illegal to do so (Law's on VPN are pretty vague, and this would probably fall into a gray area if anything) you do have to understand how this works before you call BS. It does effect someone's profits at the end of the day, just like piracy.

 

I am not 100% sure about the legality, but i do know its grounds for having your Netflix account removed. I assume the legality would fall under something like the wire fraud laws because you are essentially stating to Netflix "Yes i live in the united states" when you legally do not. Though i haven't heard of anything like this going to court so i have no idea what the prosecution or the defense could even cite as precedence.

[Notree]

Yes it causes issues.. but also different companies have the distribution rights to different areas... this is why it's such a big deal to them.. it's worth millions.

Then you have the issue of some countries it may cost less because the living wage is so much less... it's a numbers game and how to optimize them.

 

Is it a rip off if in the US you have to pay $20/m and in russia / asia / africa they pay less? Well not really because your wage and cost of living and their cost of operating is so much different.

Thats the thing tho.If it was available at a higher cost people would simply pay cause its easier then piracy and using a vpn. Since it isn't even available piracy runs rampant. People don't want to sit at their tv at a certain time to watch a specific show anymore. They need to charge what they feel is necessary instead of region locking. The people who were gonna pirate are still going to pirate. The people that were paying are likely to pay more for more content.

[SSL]

So are we not allowed to call bullshit on something just because it's been codified in law? What does that prove, exactly?

 

And it hurts Canadian culture? Please.

[Cheddle]

what an idiot.

[Dzzope]

Thats the thing tho.If it was available at a higher cost people would simply pay cause its easier then piracy and using a vpn. Since it isn't even available piracy runs rampant. People don't want to sit at their tv at a certain time to watch a specific show anymore. They need to charge what they feel is necessary instead of region locking. The people who were gonna pirate are still going to pirate. The people that were paying are likely to pay more for more content.

Ohh I agree.. I live in Kiev and have no legitimate way to watch a few show whatsoever.

 

BUT, my reasoning behind why things are geo-locked is not around availability, it's around pricing and contracts.

EG, Formula 1.. Worldwide sport and different companies pay MILLIONS to have the right to carry the content (same goes for TV shows)

Now if 1 distributor has the rights to an area, they are allowed to protect them by not allowing others to operate in that area.. Unfortunately not all have streaming services yet and again those that do have different costs.. eg to charge the same contract here as in the UK / US doesn't make sense cos no-one would be able to afford it.. but off it at a reasonable price compared to the average wage here without geo-blocking and everyone else will want to sub here and use else-where..

 

You see it all the time in games..

When I go back to Ireland I will lose about half of my games as they are mostly geo locked to CIS countries (russia, some eastern europe and Eurasian countries.

 

Do I like it.. Hell no, especially when they get subs and many still advertise on-top of that... Pick one or the other asshats.. But liking something and understanding why it's like that are 2 very different things.

[Misanthrope]

BUT, my reasoning behind why things are geo-locked is not around availability, it's around pricing and contracts.

Only in theory, in practice, too much stuff just doesn't gets a fucking contract and its not available at all. Like all DRM it just doesn't fucking works: if you're obnoxious enough about geoblocking then people would just outright pirate the stuff instead and then instead of getting money from Netflix even if you're not getting a much more ridiculously unfair and higher amount from regional deals, they get fucking nothing.

 

So because regional distributors can't afford to pay the extraordinarily expensive licensing prices (weaker economies means lower margins and in turn means nothing but really hugely popular stuff is ever worth buying an expensive license for locals) they rather have, as I said, fucking nothing.

[Victorious Secret]

He isn't wrong.

 

When you pay for Netflix in Canada you pay for Canadian licensing. Not American licensing. Same for other regions. why? Each area has different restrictions from studios. Netflix has ZERO say in this. They do have an obligation to enforce those contracts because the studios will sanction them for not. 

 

You have a problem with this? Take it up with all the major studios. Not with Bell or Netflix, they're the ones who are on the receiving end of the bullshit from studios. Where do you think the real power is when it comes to licensing? ISPs? Netflix? Hah. Hollywood lawyers will tear them a new one for violating those agreements. 

[GoldSrc]

Why doesn't people understand how the Internet works.

 

My parents watch Netflix my friend also does, but my friend uses a VPN because yeah, there's more stuff on the US Netflix.

[SansVarnic]

<snip>

 

OK and how do they plan on stopping this? This statement is a bunch of fluff. The whole point of a VPN is to hide the source IP so......yeah.

Besides the legal ramifications there is no real way to determine how many people are doing this and where they are.

[Nexxus]

As a former Bell customer they can go fuck themselves.

[Kurosaki Isshin]

stealing? suppose he has his own definition of the word.