Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      The little-known company disrupting Eskom’s monopoly

      16 June 2025

      Chief sub-editor wanted – help shape South African tech media

      16 June 2025

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » In-depth » Watching Netflix, Hulu in SA: is it legal?

    Watching Netflix, Hulu in SA: is it legal?

    By Craig Wilson11 October 2013
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    David Feinberg
    David Feinberg

    Subscribing to international music and video streaming subscription services such as Hulu and Netflix outside the regions for which they’re intended may breach the terms of service between content distributors and the owners of that content. But as long as South African users pay their monthly fees, their chances of facing any legal issues are slim.

    This is according to two South African media lawyers.

    On Thursday, TechCentral outlined some of the methods local Internet users employ to access popular streaming content services such as Netflix, Spotify, Hulu and others.

    David Feinberg, a partner at media and entertainment law firm Rosin Wright Rosengarten, says licences between owners of content and distributors such as Netflix include a “limitation on the territory or territories in which they operate”. This is for commercial reasons and, if the distributor wishes to expand into other territories, that will result in a separate negotiation around fees.

    Often these deals include “minimum fees or advances, or other guarantees”. For example, a content owner may demand US$10m upfront, which the distributor then recoups from revenues earned by providing services in the territory in question..

    At the same time, the terms and conditions between distributors and end users tend to include a list of warranties whereby the users applying to use the service agree that the details they provide are true.

    Feinberg says that should a content owner approach a distributor and complain that its content is being accessed in a country where it isn’t licensed to offer it, the latter will likely argue that end users have “misrepresented” themselves and that it is not to blame.

    The distributor could terminate users’ accounts or go after them in same way, but Feinberg is yet to hear of this happening in South Africa. Moreover, distributors tend to “turn a blind eye” because they’re earning fees from subscribers in unsupported territories and, in any event, have indemnified themselves in the terms and conditions agreed to by end users.

    Feinberg says it’s unlikely an international content owner or distributor would invest the money and resources to launch litigation in South Africa. “That’s always the problem with infringement,” he says. “You have to ask whether it’s worth pursuing.”

    It's fairly trivial for South African broadband users to subscribe to Netflix
    It’s fairly trivial for South African broadband users to subscribe to Netflix

    Furthermore, under acts such as the US’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act, platforms that host content can’t be held liable by content owners until they’ve been notified by them of an alleged infringement and have then subsequently failed to act. This is how many “torrent” sites and file-hosting services have escaped prosecution for allegedly violating copyright.

    “Netflix will take the view that they’ve taken all necessary precautions, but if the matter is brought to their attention, then it is likely they’ll have to do something — and that something would most likely be simply cutting off the user in an unsupported territory,” Feinberg says.

    However, Peter Grealy, head of the media and technology department at law firm Webber Wentzel, says the odds of South Africans being cut off by Netflix and other streaming services are slim. This is because, even if users are accessing content from outside a supported country, they’re still paying for it — and the owner’s imperative is to sell as much content as possible.

    Moreover, Grealy says the licence awarded to companies such as Netflix and Hulu “will not deal with matters that arise extraterritorially” and thus it doesn’t necessarily offer them the scope to deal with this.

    “You can only regulate within the confines of the legislation,” Grealy explains. “The likelihood of litigation is remote because of the cost, geographical challenges and the number of people involved. Many South Africans have US iTunes accounts and we haven’t seen anything done about that.”  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media

    • See also: How to get Netflix, Hulu in SA


    David Feinberg Hulu Netflix Pandora Peter Grealy Rosin Wright Rosengarten Spotify Webber Wentzel
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleInflation monitoring set to go digital
    Next Article TalkCentral: Ep 95 – ‘Asymmetry’

    Related Posts

    AI meets binge-watching: Netflix tests next-gen search

    13 April 2025

    MTN to launch new pan-African streaming service

    7 April 2025

    Spotify says it paid South African artists R400-million last year

    4 April 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.