Is It Time for Netflix to Crack Down on Password Sharing?

A recent poll found that more than one fifth of young adults in the U.S. who use video-streaming services do so on borrowed passwords. Password sharing, or the act of using someone else's account for a streaming service like Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), has long been acknowledged by streaming services, but have generally been seen as a necessary cost. Netflix and its peers have often dismissed the act as immaterial, or not worth enforcing.

Image source: Netflix.

However, as video streaming goes mainstream, the tide may be shifting on the password-sharing debate. A Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 21% of Americans aged 18-24 borrow passwords from people outside of their households to stream shows and movies, and that 12% of adults of all ages borrow passwords.

Source: Fool.com