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Netflix announced that it will stop people from sharing their Netflix passwords.
Netflix customers in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain will have to pay an extra fee if they want to share their password with someone who doesn’t live in the same house.
The new policy in those countries comes after Netflix tested different methods to stop password sharing in South America.
The company says that about 100 million people around the world don’t pay for their Netflix accounts, but use a friend’s or family member’s password.
According to Netflix, the company hasn’t earned enough money to invest in new shows and movies because of people sharing their accounts. Netflix says it wants to end password sharing in more countries soon.
Until recently, it has been easy for Netflix users to share their passwords with other people. In 2017, Netflix also joked about sharing passwords in a tweet that said “Love is sharing a password”.
However, there is more competition in the video streaming market now and some customers are ending their video streaming subscriptions because the cost of living is going up in many places. That means Netflix has to try harder to protect its business.
The new policy in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal asks Netflix subscribers to set up a “main location” for their account. Netflix subscribers can still watch video when they travel.
In general, Netflix subscribers will have to pay extra to share passwords with people who do not live in their home. The rules and prices will vary depending on the country.
Vocabulary
- Announce – share information openly; to tell the public; to make a statement; to report
- Share – to have or use something at the same time as someone else; to divide food, money, goods, etc. and give some of it to someone else
- Policy – a set of ideas or plans that is used for making decisions; guidelines; code; rules
- Test – to do something to learn if it is safe, works correctly, etc.; try out
- Method – a way of doing something; procedure; technique; approach; way;
- Account – a user’s profile/page on social media or internet service
- According to – as ‘someone’ said; as stated by ‘someone’; in the opinion of ‘someone’
- Earn – to get something (usually money) because you worked, sold something, or helped someone; to receive
- Invest – put money into; spend money on a project or business
- Joke – to say funny things; to say or do something for amusement or to make other people laugh;
- Competition – challenger; opponent; rival; enemy; opposition; another business selling the same product/service
- Video streaming – to watch video online without downloading it or having a physical copy
- Market – the field/area/place of trade or business; the buying/selling of a specific product or service; a category of potential buyers
- Subscription – an amount of money that you pay regularly to receive a product or service (Netflix subscription; Amazon Prime subscription; newspaper subscription)
- Cost of living – The amount of money needed to pay for basic things like food, housing, and transportation
- Protect – keep safe or secure; guard; defend
- Location – an area; a place; a fixed place or position in space; where something is
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- Do you think Netflix’s new policy on password sharing is fair? Why or why not?
- Do you believe that ending password sharing will actually increase revenue for Netflix to invest in new shows and movies?
- In your opinion, what are some alternative solutions to end password sharing while still keeping Netflix customers satisfied? Can you think of any ideas?
Original Article
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