“We love people sharing Netflix,” says CEO Reed Hastings at a Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas this past year. Even though the CEO says it is A-Okay, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals passed a ruling that may make it a federal crime.
This all started with a court case involving David Nosal. He was a headhunter who left his former company Korn/Ferry to start a new firm. He used the password of a current employee to access the company’s database. He then used the gathered information for his new firm. David Nosal was convicted of hacking charges in 2013 and sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
The ruling was issued under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Even though, it is a legislation predominantly concerned with hacking. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is known as the worst law in technology. It bans “unauthorized access” of computers. Yes, those terms are vague on purpose. The law is so open-ended and broad, intentionally, to be unconstitutionally vague, claims Orin Kerr, leading scholar on computer-crime.
“This access falls squarely within the CFAA’s prohibition on access ‘without authorization,’ and thus we affirm Nosal’s conviction for violations of … the CFAA,” Judge M. Margaret McKeown claims.
Judge Stephen Reinhardt disagrees, Nosal’s case isn’t about hacking but password sharing. This can lead to the millions of people who share their Netflix or Hulu accounts becoming federal criminals. He claims that with decision they “lose sight of the anti-hacking purpose of the CFAA, and despite our warning, threatens to criminalize all sorts of innocuous conduct engaged in daily by ordinary citizens”
Yes, in a way, by sharing passwords is a breach of the terms and conditions. Should you be prosecuted because of it, though? At the very least, there should be account suspension. At worst, there should be a ban.
Ultimately, the decision for prosecution will be up to the streaming service. If CEO Reed Hastings says it’s okay to share your password, it is unlikely that Netflix is going to come after you.
