Sharing Netflix and HBO GO passwords are technically federal crimes now

If you're currently making use of someone's Netflix account or HBO GO account, you are technically committing a federal crime, you bad**s you. Last week, the U.S Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion that using someone's property "without authorization" was not OK.

This opinion from the court essentially translates into this: Sharing your Netflix password with someone and that same someone actually logging into Netflix with your password is a federal crime. However ridiculous or scary that sounds, you probably won't get in trouble for sharing your password or using a friend's password (with permission).

The judges noted that “facts and context matter in applying the term ‘without authorization'.” Basically, the judges didn't write in a loophole for consenting password sharing, they just shrugged it off and said that "facts and context" need to be considered before people are tried for sharing a password.

One judge, Judge Reinhardt, disagreed with the other judges' shrugging the issue off. Reinhardt stated that the opinion “does not provide… a workable line which separates the consensual password sharing in this case from the consensual password sharing of millions of legitimate account holders, which may also be contrary to the policies of system owners.”

With no clear line being set, "without permission" could be applied to a number of things (including Netflix password sharing).

[via TechCrunch]