Netflix 106 page legal agreement

[imoldernu]

When you sign on to your netflix account, you will be presented with a 106 page small print agreement that allows Netflix to do almost anything, including changing prices at any time, and being able to use any of your private information in almost any way they wish.
As far as I can determine, there is no choice.
I would suggest that before "agreeing". that you scroll through the first 40 or 50 pages to get a flavor.
I have trouble believing that this could be legal, but in this day and age, who knows.

A tiny arbitrary excerpt

You agree to use the Netflix service, including all features and functionalities associated therewith, in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, or other restrictions on use of the service or content therein. You agree not to archive, download (other than through caching necessary for personal use), reproduce, distribute, modify, display, perform, publish, license, create derivative works from, offer for sale, or use (except as explicitly authorized in these Terms of Use) content and information contained on or obtained from or through the Netflix service without express written permission from Netflix and its licensors. You also agree not to: circumvent, remove, alter, deactivate, degrade or thwart any of the content protections in the Netflix service; use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Netflix service; decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble any software or other products or processes accessible through the Netflix service; insert any code or product or manipulate the content of the Netflix service in any way; or, use any data mining, data gathering or extraction method. In addition, you agree not to upload, post, e-mail or otherwise send or transmit any material designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment associated with the Netflix service, including any software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs.
The availability of movies & TV shows to watch will change from time to time, and from country to country. The quality of the display of the streaming movies & TV shows may vary from computer to computer, and device to device, and may be affected by a variety of factors, such as your location, the bandwidth available through and/or speed of your Internet connection. HD and Ultra HD availability is subject to your Internet service and device capabilities. Not all content is available in HD or Ultra HD and not all plans allow you to receive HD or Ultra HD content. A download speed of at least 5.0 Mbps per stream is recommended to receive HD content, which is defined as 720p or better. A download speed of at least 25.0 Mbps per stream is recommended to receive Ultra HD content, which is defined as resolution greater than 1080p. You are responsible for all Internet access charges. Please check with your Internet provider for information on possible Internet data usage charges. Netflix makes no representations or warranties about the quality of your watching experience on your display. The time it takes to begin watching a movie or TV show will vary based on a number of factors, including your location, available bandwidth at the time, the movie or TV show you have selected and the configuration of your Netflix ready device.
Netflix streaming software is developed by, or for, Netflix and is designed to enable streaming of content from Netflix through Netflix ready devices. This software may vary by device and medium, and functionalities may also differ between devices. BY USING OUR SERVICE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE TO THE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (www.netflix.com/EULA) AND TO RECEIVE, WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE OR PROMPTING, UPDATED VERSIONS OF THE NETFLIX AND RELATED THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE FOREGOING TERMS, DO NOT USE OUR SERVICE. WE DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY OR OTHERWISE WARRANT THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE DEVICES, INCLUDING THE CONTINUING COMPATIBILITY OF THE DEVICE WITH OUR SERVICE. By using our service, you agree to look solely to the entity that manufactured and/or sold you the device for any issues related to the device and its compatibility with the Netflix service. If your Netflix ready device is sold, lost or stolen, please deactivate the Netflix ready device. If you fail to log out or deactivate your device, subsequent users may access the Netflix service through your account and may be able to access certain of your account information. To deactivate a device, follow instructions on the "Your Account" page of our website (www.netflix.com/).

Much, much more in the document on line...
Reminds me of that saying... When rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.

Apparently you cannot access the account you paid for, until you sign the agreement.

 

[bUU]

My company has an agreement like that. Not as long but similar in context. Each sentence added to the agreement since it was originally established was added due to some customer doing something unexpected and contrary to the pricing model. Fair is fair: They signed an agreement without provisions keeping their usage within the context of the pricing model so they get what they paid for. But the company would be stupid to not learn from mistakes like that and either increase the price or update the agreement to preclude that (mis)use, whichever will result in a better bottom-line for the business. Since customers are often price over-sensitive and terms-and-conditions indifferent, it tends to be the latter. And in consumer businesses, like Netflix, it is probably 100 times more so the case that that customers prefer more restrictions in the agreement instead of paying a higher price that reflects the extra value associated with the (mis)use in question. So short of a Pollyanna scenario, each identifiable bit of value that cannot be tied to some portion of the price paid will and should result in a new condition in the contract to preclude the cost associated with that value. And Netflix has many customers and many that seek exploits vigorously.

 

[imoldernu]

My company has an agreement like that. Not as long but similar in context. Each sentence added to the agreement since it was originally established was added due to some customer doing something unexpected and contrary to the pricing model. Fair is fair: They signed an agreement without provisions keeping their usage within the context of the pricing model so they get what they paid for. But the company would be stupid to not learn from mistakes like that and either increase the price or update the agreement to preclude that (mis)use, whichever will result in a better bottom-line for the business. Since customers are often price over-sensitive and terms-and-conditions indifferent, it tends to be the latter. And in consumer businesses, like Netflix, it is probably 100 times more so the case that that customers prefer more restrictions in the agreement instead of paying a higher price that reflects the extra value associated with the (mis)use in question. So short of a Pollyanna scenario, each identifiable bit of value that cannot be tied to some portion of the price paid will and should result in a new condition in the contract to preclude the cost associated with that value. And Netflix has many customers and many that seek exploits vigorously.

Thank you... That makes sense. Good explanation. In looking through the pages, (on the netflix opening page), it does appear that many of the extra pages extend into legalese that may have been insufficient in the original agreement. The agreement on the email that can be requested, while long, is considerable shorter than the version on the streaming TV pages.

 

[MichaelB]

The user agreement in my Netflix account, which includes the two paragraphs quoted in the OP, occupies 10 1/2 pages on MS word, with 1 inch margins, average headers and font size. Here's a link to their terms of service. https://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse

The privacy policy (here) has an opt out. Glancing over everything, it doesn't look that bad or out of the ordinary.