Share Your Netflix Password and Go To Jail

Starting July 1, 2011 we could see an increase in misdemeanors and felonies in the U.S. based on a new law to prohibit the sharing of Netflix and Rhapsody Passwords.

Officials are trying to draw the line between sharing a movie with a buddy, and sending account information to whoever you can so that your friends and family all get free accounts. Although it’s a blurry line, it might be what starts the major push against online piracy and streaming.

"What becomes not legal is if you send your username and password to all your friends so they can get free subscriptions," said Rep. Gerald McCormick, the bill's House sponsor.

It’s actually quite obvious to anyone monitoring your Netflix account whether or not you are sharing your movies. It combines the data of how frequent your account logs on with what devices and where, and eventually you have a painted picture of how your account is being used.

Netflix terms allow you to have six individual devices to stream from your account, but people play around with this number because the six devices are supposed to resemble your "immediate household." What if your immediate household has eight or nine members? Or how can they tell if those eight or nine people are just your friends?

This is a scary prospect, being sent to court and having to fight against jail-time because Netflix thinks you shared its content with friends or family. The other scary prospect is to the people who have been sharing their streams with friends and all the people they know—and who will soon be prosecuted for a felony.

These are serious accusations to people who might not have that serious of an intention of stealing material. The seriousness of piracy is often overlooked by Internet users, especially those younger video streamers. It will be important to consider when you’re killing time between meetings with your laptop rental with a short episode of 30 Rock or Cheers. Make sure you’re using your own account, because you might be sent to jail for after July 1^st.