Netflix Password Sharing – Sharing your Netflix password could be considered a federal crime.
Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that sharing online passwords could be considered a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse act.
According to reports, David Nosal, a former employee of a search firm Korn/Ferry “used the password of a person still with the company to download information from Korn/Ferry’s database for use at [his] new firm,” according to Fusion. Nosal was then charged with hacking.
So how does this relate to your House of Cards? That part is a little unclear.
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s wording is vague enough that, technically, anyone who gives away their streaming service passwords is considered complicit, and “if they wanted to, Netflix could go after users.”
That’s what worries the dissenting judge Stephen Reinhardt. Reinhardt pointed out that “this case is about password sharing. People frequently share their passwords, notwithstanding the fact that websites and employers have policies prohibiting it. In my view, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not make the millions of people who engage in this ubiquitous, useful, and generally harmless conduct into unwitting federal criminals.”
Will this stop everyday men and women from sharing the Netflix passwords? Probably not. But, it’s a scary thought that your ex-girlfriend other could get you arrested for sharing your Netflix password.
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