Online Media Daily reports that Netflix met some resistance in the Senate regarding HR 2471, which would enable Netflix customers to share movie or TV shows on Facebook.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed concern on Tuesday about a Netflix- backed proposal to amend a federal video privacy law by making it easier to share information on Facebook about people's movie rentals.
The proposed revision to the Video Privacy Protection Act “doesn't seem like the best course for consumers,” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said at a panel hearing on Tuesday.
Why do they care, if I want to state what movie I'm watching thats my business.
Posted by: Tvaddic | February 01, 2012 at 03:38 AM
This is not important at all and useless.
This will not make Netflix any better. Do people really honestly care about this?
It will put more cash in Netflixs pocket I assume. As Facebook advertisers will give Netflix a chunk of change for all the data they collect from what people watch. Why else is Netflix pushing for this?
What would Netflix use this cash for? More discs? More streaming or just extra change in the pocket?
If this passes they can make Netflix sign ins by Facebook login required and auto opt people in this feature if they wanted too.
There must be serious cash to make off this. They are certainly not pushing it for our convenience to share what we watch easier.
You know it's like so hard to copy and paste the Title and junk in a Facebook post. I want the machine to like auto do it for me. NOW! *SARCASM METER ON HIGH*
Really?
Posted by: Crow550 | February 01, 2012 at 04:07 AM
If this passes it will just make it that much easier for the machines to know everything. Skynet is watching... and listening. BTW, I went to the john this morning, anybody care to "like" that?
Posted by: Nate | February 01, 2012 at 05:22 AM
John Connor? Is he on Facebook too?
The great John Connor right? ;)
Oh the John. :P LOL!
Posted by: Crow550 | February 01, 2012 at 07:51 AM
and here we go again
put on the tin-foil hats....
Posted by: haha | February 01, 2012 at 08:09 AM
Tin-foil hatted how?
No one cares for this. No one is asking for it. Only Netflix.
Why don't they focus on stuff the user base is really asking for. Stuff we members really want out of the service.
We don't care so why don't they? It's not paranoia. Netflix is doing this because there is extra cash in it.
They are not wasting time just to give us added convenience of auto watched Titles being shown to our friends. As it's useless to everyone as we can manually do it.
Posted by: Crow550 | February 01, 2012 at 08:16 AM
@Crow - MANY, MANY people have expressed the desire to be able to share rental ratings with friends/others. It's a highly requested feature. It's what the internet and social networking is all about - sharing.
Posted by: Gran | February 01, 2012 at 09:59 AM
Nobody I know wants this feature, Netflix is pushing it because Facebook will share revenue with them. I assume congressmen are weary after the public outrage over PIPA/SOPA.
Posted by: moviegeek | February 01, 2012 at 10:34 AM
Yeah, I don't want nor know anybody that wants this. I'm too the point now I'm annoyed at just seeing the little Facebook icon or the thumbs up icon or any of the other crap associated with that terrible company.
Posted by: Nate | February 01, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Thank you, Sen. Leahy and the others who are fighting this!
@haha - I'll take off my tinfoil hat if you take off your blinders.
@Gran - What's stopping you from sharing your viewing habits and ratings now? Just a few extra keystrokes and you can share to your heart's content without weakening privacy rights for everybody else.
Posted by: thatboy | February 01, 2012 at 01:01 PM
People want this, Netflix had a movie social network type service but then discountinued it. Basically this is an extra feature, and free advertising. It would say something like, John watched Weeds on Netflix. And users would be able to click the link to watch or get a free trial. Netflix wants some of the 800+ million Facebook users.
Posted by: Tvaddic | February 01, 2012 at 04:05 PM
This law is the reason they tried and failed to split the DVD business from the streaming business. The law applies to DVD rentals, but not streaming. This current action is their "plan B". And yes. It's about Netflix making money of its customer's information.
Posted by: Dan R. | February 01, 2012 at 05:04 PM
Netflix: Do you guys know how to post videos to Facebook?
Sen. Leahy: Soooo 27 seconds ago.
Posted by: IMACynic | February 01, 2012 at 09:36 PM
Remember when you didn't think everything you did was everyone's business? It's like an voluntary KGB monitoring that Facebook, Netflix and other sites are enticing us into living.
Posted by: Corey | February 02, 2012 at 09:25 AM
Please put back the original Netflix "Friend" service. I used it a lot. I don't want to integrate everything with Facebook. Also, some people don't have Facebook. Shocking, I know!
Posted by: chris | February 02, 2012 at 09:33 AM
Not hard to manually do it. Plus about about Google Plus?
It's taking off slowly. I think the best feature is the hangout feature though.
Netflix should just bring back the classic friend feature.
Or how about this.... Each Title you look at on Netflix.com has a share on Facebook, Google Plus buttons?
That makes more sense IMO. You watch a Title on a device and then have an option to share it.
That at least makes sense.
I guess it doesn't make as much cash though. :\
Posted by: Crow550 | February 02, 2012 at 10:00 AM
*Plus what about Google Plus?
Posted by: Crow550 | February 02, 2012 at 10:01 AM
I think a few people don't know how this actually works. They aren't selling your info or anything like that.
I use the facebook connect thing, and I like it. I've found that some of my friends watch good movies and found some great suggestions through it. Some of my friends watch horrible movies though...
All it basically does though, is while you are watching a movie, you have the option to not share it on facebook. If you select it, you don't share it. If you don't select the button, a little line appears on your facebook page, like "John Doe watched Kick-Ass on Netflix.". If you later change your mind, you click a button and it removes it from your facebook page.
Posted by: Groggie | February 02, 2012 at 12:17 PM
Maybe we don't really care how it works because we think Netflix is wasting there time and effort as they could be applying it on other more important things.
Yes anything you post on Facebook is sold to advertisers and thus companies that add in Facebook social features get a chunk of the ad revenue for getting you to share more.
There is nothing really wrong with this. I could care less what Netflix does. However if they are still pushing for this maybe they should put there efforts on more important issues.
However I don't blame Netflix. Extra cash is always nice. Maybe they will put the extra funds in the service? Who knows?
This will most likely happen sooner or later though.
I don't mind when free products do this as that's the price of free.
Like Google products. They offer many great free services at the price that they sell your habits to advertisers.
Remember the days when we had to pay for everything like e-mail?
In that regard it makes sense.
This is just so Netflix can make some extra dough. However again maybe they will put it in improving plus this is gonna get passed sooner or later.
Were just becoming more and more social and automatic as time goes on.
Posted by: Crow550 | February 02, 2012 at 03:49 PM
Between voluntarily agreeing to years of FTC monitoring because they're so haphazard with their user's personal information to their games being riddled with malware, I am amazed so many people use that crap.
Posted by: Nate | February 02, 2012 at 04:22 PM
Facebook is a great way to keep in touch without keeping in touch, and having something to talk about when you have nothing to talk about. I would share what i watch on Netflix only because i have impecable (i think i spelled that wrong) taste. If I liked a movie, I am sure all that know me would "like" it too.
I think it would strike up some good conversations with people that you don't normally talk to, but do have on your friends list. Who give a crap if Netflix or Facebook makes money off my information. I put it out there for all to know, who am i to think it is going to stay private. It didn't cost me anything to sign up for facebook, and it hasn't cost me anything since I have.
Posted by: Mrmanmac | February 02, 2012 at 05:41 PM
If I like something well enough, I will tell my friends about it. I don't want to tell them everything I watch and they don't care. And I could never like anything enough to want to tell Zuckerberg.
Posted by: IMACynic | February 02, 2012 at 10:34 PM
Zuckerberg is watching you poop & he's posting about it too.
*CHUN, CHUN, CHUNNNN!*
Posted by: Like Dude! | February 03, 2012 at 12:45 AM
Honestly I don't understand all of the hooplah about this. If Netflix allows you to put your information and you want to share, then share it. If you don't, then don't. As far as facebook and everything selling your info, facebook doesn't sell your info. What happens is everytime you put an app on your facebook account that app has access to your info. YOU allowed that app to do that. Before you add an app it tells you what that app has access to. If you accept it then you allow it to do through.
Posted by: Former Netflix Employee #2 | February 12, 2012 at 04:59 PM