Netflix promises to put an end to Canadians tapping into U.S. service
Posted January 15, 2016 1:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Netflix is vowing to cut the cord on Canadians using proxy servers or VPNs to access the U.S. version of the content streaming service.
“In coming weeks, those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are,” reads a release posted Thursday on the Netflix website.
“We are confident this change won’t impact members not using proxies,” David Fullagar, VP of content delivery architecture, said.
According to a number of surveys, up to one-third of Canadian Netflix subscribers use a server-masking program to tap into the American version of Netflix, which offers up to 50 per cent more content.
The reason for the difference in content is the company’s distribution deals with movie studios and content providers. These deals are negotiated regionally, allowing for certain content to appear in certain countries. As a result, the American Netflix site has more Hollywood blockbusters and popular network shows than the Canadian version.
“We are making progress in licensing content across the world and, as of last week, now offer the Netflix service in 190 countries, but we have a ways to go before we can offer people the same films and TV series everywhere,” Fullagar writes.
He writes that the technology Netflix uses to stop proxies has continued to evolve, but doesn’t specify what the streaming service has done to solve the problem.
Earlier this week, Netflix chief product officer Neil Hunt told the Globe and Mail that there is no clear way to prevent the use of proxy servers.
“It’s likely to always be a cat-and-mouse game. [We] continue to rely on blacklists of VPN exit points maintained by companies that make it their job. Once [VPN providers] are on the blacklist, it’s trivial for them to move to a new IP address and evade,” he said.
Back in August, then-prime minister Stephen Harper vowed not to regulate or tax digital services like Netflix.
Canadian streaming services Shomi and CraveTV have been touted as Canada-first alternatives to Netflix.
