Posted 19 March 2020

What is the legality behind signing up for Tidal/Netflix/YouTube Premium with a VPN?

A lot of deals get posted here involving signing up for streaming services using an IP address from another country. Most of the time there’s a lot of dispute in the comments as to whether it is regarded as fraud by law. Can anyone weigh in on this and see what they think about it? Is it fraud or is it just something that is against the Terms and Conditions although not illegal?

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19th Mar 2020
Just against terms and conditions, not illegal. I am and will carry on paying for Netflix and YouTube Premium using a VPN. I'll get my popcorn and prepare for the debate now
19th Mar 2020
Not fraud or illegal, just presumably breaking T&Cs.

Companies must be aware of this by now, if they wanted to stop it they could. I think they are letting it slide for now especially as there is so much competition in the streaming market. (edited)
19th Mar 2020
If it’s against T&Cs which you agree to when paying for the service then is this not fraudulent? Just a questions for someone more learned
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19th Mar 2020
indywooda19/03/2020 13:34
If it’s against T&Cs which you agree to when paying for the service then i …If it’s against T&Cs which you agree to when paying for the service then is this not fraudulent? Just a questions for someone more learned

I think most of the time if you break T’s & C’s you would normally just get banned.
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19th Mar 2020
andrewworrall119/03/2020 12:18
Just against terms and conditions, not illegal. I am and will carry on …Just against terms and conditions, not illegal. I am and will carry on paying for Netflix and YouTube Premium using a VPN. I'll get my popcorn and prepare for the debate now

Haha. I’ve got Netflix, YouTube Premium and Tidal all on the go at once. All in total for cheaper than the Basic plan of Netflix in the UK. I even made a new Spotify account using the Curry’s 6 month free codes, so a total of 3 music streaming platforms for no other reason than for the satisfaction that I’m paying close to nothing for the lot (edited)
19th Mar 2020
abigsmurf19/03/2020 19:12
It's technically fraud, you're using deception to receive goods/services …It's technically fraud, you're using deception to receive goods/services you're not entitled to. You could also fall foul of the computer misuse act and I imagine half a dozen other laws creatively interpreted. The Premier League chose to claim trademark infringement when they wanted to stop pubs using cheap European broadcasters to air matches at a fraction of the cost.It would be an utter waste of time for them to pursue you under any of them, they'd just kick you off the service if they really cared too much. You don't spend huge amounts go after small numbers of paying customers who are taking advantage of a slight discount. Heck if it goes wrong they could even find themselves on the wrong end of a court ruling and have their regional pricing banned.

But you're missing the point of their T&C's versus fraud not paying VAT payable to HMRC
19th Mar 2020
the fraud police must be in isolation for
19th Mar 2020
It's technically fraud, you're using deception to receive goods/services you're not entitled to. You could also fall foul of the computer misuse act and I imagine half a dozen other laws creatively interpreted. The Premier League chose to claim trademark infringement when they wanted to stop pubs using cheap European broadcasters to air matches at a fraction of the cost.

It would be an utter waste of time for them to pursue you under any of them, they'd just kick you off the service if they really cared too much. You don't spend huge amounts go after small numbers of paying customers who are taking advantage of a slight discount. Heck if it goes wrong they could even find themselves on the wrong end of a court ruling and have their regional pricing banned.