45,000 people sign petition to end Netflix’s VPN crackdown in Pakistan

Subscribers of streaming service protest against restrictions from access to wider Netflix content catalog

Global streaming pioneer Netflix set its footprint in Pakistan last year, offering TV shows, movies, documentaries and other video content that the service is famous for against a monthly subscription of $7.99.

However, soon after its launch in the country, many new subscribers to Netflix were disappointed to see that their geographical location determined how much (or less) content they were allowed to access.

This led to a large number of subscribers reverting back to using virtual private networks (VPNs) in order to trick the service into thinking that the user is from a particular country to access the wide range of its content.



Seeing the rise in use of VPNs to access their content catalog, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced plans to take counter-measures against the use of VPNs, according to the Wired. Hastings justified this move by saying that Netflix had to comply with local laws and licensing agreements so that the service can continue to operation in new territories.

Following the announcement, Netflix’s software engineers started work on circumventing VPNs, cutting off users in many territories from accessing the wider Netflix content catalog which resulted in geo-blockades of several users who can no longer use proxies or VPN service to sample new content.

This left a large number of users indignant, sparked off protests online and led to the formation of an online petition calling for Netflix to stop their VPN crackdown because using a VPN was only a means for them to protect their privacy.

The online petition has so far attracted 45,226 signatures and OpenMedia, the digital rights group behind the petition, has also sent a letter to Hastings.

“Watching quality content, and knowing that creators are being compensated in the process is great. But we also love our privacy. And lately, as your subscribers, you just haven’t been treating us well,” the letter reads.



“[Blocking VPN connections] is a huge problem for our privacy conscious supporters, who use VPNs as an essential, user-friendly tool to protect their privacy in a post Snowden world,” the letter upheld.

“We are not unreasonable. We do understand that you have contractual obligations to the rights­holders whose content you distribute. But we believe that there are better ways for you to respect creators, and enforce your geographic restrictions and contractual obligations than by outright blocking your privacy conscious customers from using your service,” it added.

The rights group has also called for a meeting between Netflix and them.

Last month, Hastings had revealed that the VPN crackdown did not hurt the company’s financial results, and that complaints were restricted to a “small but vocal minority.”