--- title: "Netflix’s Password Sharing Ban Already Sounds Like an Absolute Disaster" description: "Netflix tried to ban password sharing in three Latin American countries — but apparently, they simply can't get their own policies straight." date: "2022-05-31" modified: "2022-05-31" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/netflix-password-sharing-disaster" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "netflix" - "streaming services" - "terms of service" - "the digest" --- # Netflix’s Password Sharing Ban Already Sounds Like an Absolute Disaster ![Netflix tried to ban password sharing in three Latin American countries — but apparently, they simply can't get their own policies straight.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Get it Together Netflix has already tried to ban password sharing in three Latin American countries, in a preview of what's [likely to soon become a worldwide strategy]() — but apparently it can't even get its own policies straight. More than a dozen Peruvian Netflix subscribers, [told *Rest of World*]() wildly differing and confusing experiences with enforcement of the company's anti-password sharing experiment. That comes as the company is [hemorrhaging money and subscribers](), and [laying off entire divisions of content producers]() as a result — and suggests that even one of the most successful tech services of its generation isn't immune to critical dysfunction. ## Big Guns Although Netflix long turned a blind eye to password sharing — or even encouraged it — that's all changed since March, when the company [announced that]() it would start charging users who get caught breaking the rule. Thus far, however, the password sharing ban rollout doesn't seem to be going too well in the market's where it's taken effect. From monthly rate hikes that made some outright cancel their subscriptions, to others who say they were never been informed of the rule change at all, to others who ignored the rule and received no punishment, *Rest of World*'s reporting make the program sound like a mess. What's more**,** a Netflix customer service representative in Peru who spoke on condition of anonymity told *Rest of World* that they and their coworkers are also pretty confused by the rule change, which stipulates only that users can share passwords freely with members of their "household," and must pay the equivalent of a few extra dollars a month to add users who live outside of their homes. Netflix is, per the report, likely to use this experiment to inform its future password sharing policy globally — so let's hope it fixes this mess before it becomes universal. **READ MORE:** [Netflix cracks down on password sharing, but early efforts in Peru are a mess]() \[*Rest of World*\] **More on Netflix's woes:** [*Is Netflix Trying to Blow Itself Up?*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()