January 9, 2008
Software lets Canadians view blocked U.S. shows online
There's a dirty little secret shared amongst hardy Web users looking to access online content that is only available within the United States, writes the Financial Post.
"As American television networks block international users from watching top shows such as Lost or Grey's Anatomy online due to complex licensing agreements, software is widely and easily available that circumvents "geoblocking" practices at no cost to consumers.
Here's how it works: using what is known as a "virtual private network," Canadian Web users are able to log on to a server that will take an IP address that a Web site would read as coming from Canada and change it to look like a U.S. computer. Although the technology has been around for the past decade, it is only recently that savvy online users have been able to figure out that it can also work to watch previously inaccessible digital content.
Furthermore, you're not breaking any laws in Canada by bypassing country-specific Web sites, says entertainment lawyer David Zitzerman.
Although the practice may violate a statute in the United States' widely lambasted Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Mr. Zitzerman says, there is so far no copyright legislation in Canada that would prohibit anyone from visiting American-only Web sites under the guise of a non-Canadian IP address."
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/tv/archives/2008/01/018605.htm
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)