Netflix to be integrated into Facebook, except for in U.S. due to law

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has confirmed today at the Facebook F8 developer conference that the company's services will be integrated into the social network, except for in the U.S. where it is illegal due to law.

After logging into Facebook, users can see what movies or TV shows their friends have been streaming and watch right from their browser within Facebook via an overlay player.

Hastings says the services will be integrated in 44 countries, but the U.S.' Video Privacy Protection Act, passed in the 80s, does not allow the integration to happen here in the U.S.

Netflix currently has 23 million subscribers, with most in the U.S., making the new deal pretty useless.

Hastings says the VPPA is currently being reviewed and could be amended soon.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Sep 2011 0:09

hikaricor

There are tons of services that currently allow you to show people what you're watching such as Trakt. All you would need to do this with netflix on facebook is require that each and every user opt in. The law wouldn't be an issue at that point...

23.9.2011 00:47 #1

FreddyF

Interesting. You can't subscribe to Netflix or watch movies outside the US, and maybe Canada if they fixed that. What is the point of having the "Facebook App" available in 44 countries if it only works in the country that bans it's use?

Perhaps they plan an intense congressional marketing campaign(lobbying, aka bribery) to change the law?

23.9.2011 04:05 #2

KillerBug

The issue isn't with opt-in; if you have facebook, you have already agreed to give far too much personal information away to thieves, marketers, and your so-called, "Friends".

The issue is with how the law states the opt-in must be handled...that is, it must be done in writing on actual paper. For a website, this is almost unthinkable just from the standpoint of the extra labor required to process these requests by hand, nevermind that most customers would not even bother with it.

There is also another issue that isn't really touched in this article, and that is that they would have to offer people the ability to opt-out of providing their viewing preferences to marketers. Again, more paperwork with more workers needed to process it all...and if you are not selling marketing data, then how do you pay for the extra workers?

23.9.2011 04:08 #3

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