Netflix billing with current contracts – 05/30/2023 – Maria Inês Dolci

Netflix, an online subscription video streaming service, has decided to unilaterally modify its password sharing policy. As of this month of May, users were informed that they could only share passwords with residents of the same household. The question is, doesn’t a contract lay the groundwork for business relationships? So how can it be changed while it’s in effect?

Due to the number of queries received from consumers regarding this notice, Procon-SP notified Netflix to provide clarification. And it is guiding dissatisfied users to register formal complaints, so that it can assess whether the form of billing and the technology used to track access are in accordance with the CDC (Consumer Defense Code).

Procon-RS also notified streaming about charging a fee to the subscriber for using the service outside the home address.

According to the director of Procon in Rio Grande do Sul, Rainer Grigolo, if the consumer hires two screens simultaneously, it is not up to the supplier to define the degree of kinship, affectivity and residential address, because the contract is not linked to an address, contrary to what happens with cable TV.

Procon RS is also investigating issues related to the LGPD (General Law for the Protection of Personal Data), “since the company cannot monitor and collect data that violates consumer privacy”.

Complaints about charging for additional screens multiplied, even for premium plans, which were precisely characterized by the possibility of watching several screens simultaneously.

As always, let’s see what the CDC lays out. In section II, on unfair terms, article 51 says that contractual terms relating to the supply of products and services will be null and void if: “XIII – authorize the supplier to unilaterally modify the content or quality of the contract, after its conclusion”.

In article 47 of the CDC, another clarification: “The contractual clauses will be interpreted in a more favorable way to the consumer”. That is, if the subscriber loses something with the contractual changes, he would have to be compensated, for example, with a reduction in the monthly fee or another benefit.

Article 71 of the Civil Code determines the following: “If, however, the natural person has several residences, where he alternately lives, any of them shall be considered his domicile”. How, then, legally can Netflix limit streaming use to a household?

A good question for the SNDC (National Consumer Defense System).

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