Sharing your Netflix password with your friends so that they can enjoy its instant streaming feature? While that’s already a moral no-no, it’s soon going to be a crime in Tennessee, as a bill has been passed to make that practice illegal.
The bill awaits the governor’s signature. While originally intended to target hackers and other criminals who sell this sort of login information in quantity, it also covers those who share information with friends and relatives.
The bill was backed by industry officials, who hope other states will follow. The bill is written to cover all subscriptions based services such as Netflix and Rhapsody.


It’s not illegal to let your friends watch your subscription when you login and show it to them self yourself is it? No, but as Rep. Gerald McCormick, the bill’s sponsor in the Tennessee house, said,

“What becomes not legal is if you send your username and password to all your friends so they can get free subscriptions.“

They will use the IP address you use to access the service. So waitasec, I can login to Netflix myself from a friend’s computer, or watch via my Android device, which will provide a different IP address. Isn’t that legal? Here’s what Netflix’ Terms of Service says, as an example:
If you are on the Watch Instantly Unlimited plan or the 1-disc-out-at-a-time plan, you may watch only one device at a time. If you are on the 2-discs-out-at-a-time plan, you may watch on up to two devices at a time. Members on the 3-disc plan can watch on up to three devices. The maximum is four devices — available for members on the 4-or-greater-discs-out-at-a-time plan.
In other words, depending on the plan, you can watch on one or more devices (up to four) simultaneously at a time. The assumption there is you might have someone at home watching via TV (of course, family living in the same home are OK) while you watch on your iPhone.
 Odds are that small violations won’t be noticed. Start giving it out to your entire company baseball team, and you might see a lawyer, at least in Tennessee, knocking on your door.

Tennessee governor Bill Haslam has signed legislation that for the first time makes the theft of subscription entertainment services like Netflix a crime on par with stealing satellite television or walking out of a restaurant without paying your bill. And “theft” now includes sharing your account password too broadly.

 
It’s probably not a coincidence that the legislation was enacted in Tennessee, home to the Nashville music scene. The legislation was strongly supported by the Recording Industry Association of America, which says that it’s the first legislation of its kind in the country.
The scope of the new rule is unclear. Tennessee law already has a definition of “service” that includes a laundry list of items, including “telephone, mail, gas, electricity, steam, water, cable television,” and “any other activity or product considered in the ordinary course of business to be a service.” The bill Gov. Haslam signed adds “entertainment subscription service” to this list.
It also specifies that anyone who is “directly or indirectly harmed” by theft of service has standing to report the violation to the police. And it tweaks the penalties for violating the law. Stealing more than $500 in services can lead to serious jail time. Read Full at arstechnica.com