Bad news for all you freeloaders.
The Tennessee state government has just signed into law a new statute that makes it illegal for one person to share their Netflix password, Rhapsody password or any other password that grants access to paid streaming media online, with another person. Even if the two (or three, or four...) are friends.
The law is ostensibly meant to block pirates who hawk passwords in bulk online, but its reach extends to all Tennesseans and their cheapskate buddies.
According to the law, which is an extension of old laws that prevented people from stealing their neighbor's cable, stealing $500 or less of entertainment would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. More than that, and you're bumped up to felony status. Content providers will pursue lawsuits at their own discretion.
Tough news for the country music capital, but let's hope other state governments aren't paying attention. You know, not that we would ever do anything as crass as streaming free Netflix (like a thousand times). That would be unthinkable.
[The Tennessean]
