[mytailorisrich]

Password sharing sounds like using a false identity to obtain a service by deception... which is identity fraud under British law.

Nothing particularly new here, though the police would need to be involved in order to test this.

[smileysteve]

But they have profiles, which are designed for not a single identity.

[mytailorisrich]

Not a single identity but a very well defined set, a household, I believe. So if you know you are not part of that allowed set (and you do know) that is still obtaining a service by deception, IMHO.

The way it is defined, fraud is quite an extensive offence under British law if you start carefully looking at what people do.

[paxys]

> very well defined set, a household

What exactly is "very well defined" about a household? Are they using the IRS definition (obviously not, considering this applies worldwide)? Are unrelated people living together a household? What about families where kids are in college and come home for breaks? Domestic relationships that may or may not be recognized by a certain jurisdiction? What if some member is vacationing or traveling for work for extended periods? Or an extended family member (parents/grandparents) who lives with you for certain months of the year?

It's easy for Netflix to arbitrary say "yes" or "no" to any of these, but you are saying it should also be okay for the government to arrest and prosecute you for getting it wrong?

[mytailorisrich]

They define it quite clearly, though it's of course always possible to argue at the margin, but "password sharing" implies that the person knows they are not supposed to use the service, anyway.

I'm thinking the most common case is giving access to a friend a family member who does not live with you.

It's the act of knowingly 'cheating' that potentially brings you into fraud territory, IMHO.

[hackerman123469]

What is not an extensive offence under British law at this point?