VPN services tackle Netflix blocking
"Our engineers have already started working on a solution for it," say legal VPN services as Netflix begins blocking Aussies from US service.
- Published by David Knox
- on
Australian users of Netflix who access the US site via VPN services began getting the bad news, but it may not be for long.
“You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again,” Netflix advised.
Melbourne-based uFlix told its subscribers, “We are working on a solution to get around these new measures and apologise for the inconvenience to those who are currently only getting Australian Netflix.”
“Unless some sort of technology comes out that no one’s ever heard of before, pretty much anything implemented can be bypassed. As long as what we’re doing remains legal, there’s no issue,’’ managing director Peter Dujan said.
Another company, Express VPN, told News Corp, “We are well aware of this issue and our engineers have already started working on a solution for it.
“After trying our solutions, they can already access their Netflix once again,” a spokesman said. “In case you should ever encounter difficulties in watching Netflix, please contact our support team for additional assistance.”
Before Netflix launched in Australia, an estimated 340,000 Australians accessed US Netflix via VPN services.
When he was Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull rejected calls to ban VPN services, indicating they were perfectly legal.
6 Responses
Re Binge Watcher. It is legal to use a VPN. But if you use one to access overseas content you are still breaching someone’s copyright. Sadly, for decades Australians have been price gouged by distributors using geoblocking and locking DVD’s etc. to a region. The whole thing needs to be sorted out. Unfortunately, one of the outcomes from the recently negotiated Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) is that this sort of price discrimination will probably continue.
Even though I don’t use a VPN, I was planning to for Netflix in the future. If it’s perfectly legal, why not allow people do it?
Basically Netflix doesn’t have the local distribution rights for the majority of titles they have on the US catalog. They are all snapped up by the FTA networks and Foxtel. If people use VPNs to get access to those titles the local rights holders get upset(they aren’t getting the viewers on the content they bought) and they talk to the studios who then talks to Netflix who then use some form of VPN blocking.
It will be good the see Aussie FTA networks disappear (and AusTam) and Netflix has free rein to get the programming (drama) so sloppily handled by said networks. What did Daryl Kerrigan (The Castle) say, “tell him he’s dreamin’. Aussie FTA viewers can dream and hope that one day. For us, Netflix has UK show ‘River’, the final season of Falling Skies, don’t have to worry about the DVD’s for those two
They will always find a way around it.
Seriously people are willing to pay for the service, I know the reasons why some (lots of) content is not on the local service and maybe that will change as rights to content expires?
The big problem is if you live in the US and use a VPN you are blocked from Netflix
Note: I do not have Netflix, I had a 6 month trial but as all of the movies are old and the TV shows are 2 to 3 seasons behind (unless it is a Netflix show) I could not see any benefit in paying for it, the same with STAN, did not renew after the 6 month trials.