ACE Wins French Ruling Against Spliiit Password-Selling Service

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment recently celebrated a significant win in France against subscription-sharing platform Spliiit. The ruling, issued by the Paris Judicial Court, focused on Spliiit’s involvement in the creation of a marketplace for streaming subscriptions. The court determined that Spliiit facilitated the resale of access to services like Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix by connecting subscribers with third parties, a violation of the terms outlined in the subscription agreements.

According to ACE, Spliiit was found to be engaging in illicit password selling, a practice where commercial operators enable the unauthorized sale of streaming service login credentials to multiple users for a commission. It’s important to note that this case was not about sharing passwords within a family, but rather the exploitation of subscriptions for commercial gain in violation of platform terms.

The court concluded that sharing Apple, Netflix, and Disney subscriptions with third parties for the sole purpose of resale infringed upon the contractual agreements binding those subscribers. Larissa Knapp, EVP and Chief Content Protection Officer at the Motion Picture Association, emphasized that services that turn subscription credentials into a marketplace harm creators, consumers, and legitimate platforms.

In addition, Spliiit was found to have misled consumers by falsely claiming that its service did not violate copyright or platform terms of service. ACE views this ruling as a step forward in its ongoing efforts to safeguard the legal market for creative content and prevent unauthorized access to streaming services.