Users outside the select few regions where Netflix is officially available have long used workarounds such as proxying to gain access to the service. Until now, Netflix has turned a blind eye to these users and allowed them to continue to access the service unrestricted.
This is at odds with movie and television studios, who have long demanded Netflix monitor and block these workarounds.
It appears Netflix may now be testing ways to meet the studios demands, with TorrentFreak reporting today that users of TorGuard — an anonymous proxy and VPN service — have recently encountered error messages when using Netflix stating that they had been blocked due to VPN or proxy usage.
However in a statement to Engadget, the company says there are “no changes” to the way it handles users in countries where Netflix isn’t officially available.
So far, Chrome extensions such as Hola Better Internet are still available and functional. It’s unclear if Netflix is targeting this particularly popular extension to access U.S. Netflix.
Netflix is hamstrung in its expansion to other countries around the world, requiring lengthy negotiations with content partners before it can officially launch in each country. Currently the service is only officially available in America and parts of Europe including Germany, France and Austria.
In March this year the company will also expand to Australia and New Zealand, following years of speculation and an estimated 200,000 users currently being accessing the service via workarounds.
