We all have that one friend or family member who might be too cheap to subscribe to a service like Netflix. Instead what they do is they ask for your Netflix password so that they can use the service when you are not. Some of you guys are more than happy to oblige because hey, that’s what friends are for, right?
Unfortunately it seems that if you are caught sharing your Netflix password, you could be charged with a federal crime. Recently the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an opinion that sharing passwords is a crime that can be prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which essentially makes thousands, if not millions of people, a “criminal”.
This opinion followed the case of a certain David Nosal who used to be an employee at Korn/Ferry International. He had quit his job and had plans to launch a competing service, but while his access to the company’s database was revoked, he used the login credentials of his former assistant.
Now it should be noted that this ruling doesn’t seem to apply directly to streaming services like Netflix, but the point is that if they wanted, they could use this rule against you in a court of law if it came to that. That being said, services like Netflix, Apple Music, and Spotify all have options to invite and share with family members, so maybe you should look into that if you’re worried about being caught.