“We want the citizens of the world to have the same content.”
The CEO of Netflix says the streaming site wants to remove the territorial licensing restrictions that currently prevent Australians from getting all the TV shows and movies available on its US service within the next ten years.
Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Reed Hastings said the restrictions were one of the main complaints they receive from viewers around the world, Fairfax reported.
"As we build our library and renew existing deals we're getting to the state where over the next five or 10 years everything will be consistent around Netflix and everything will be available globally," he said.
"We're moving as quickly as we can ... [but] we're still somewhat a prisoner of the current distribution architecture.
"We want the citizens of the world to have the same content."
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Despite Netflix launching in Australia in May last year, many people still use a virtual private network (VPN) service to access the US website, so they can experience the full range of shows.
At launch, Netflix Australia only had an eighth of the content as its US counterpart.
But, as explained on prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's own website, it is not illegal to use a VPN to access overseas content. It states:
"While content providers often have in place international commercial arrangements to protect copyright in different countries or regions, which can result in ‘geoblocking’, circumventing this is not illegal under the Copyright Act."
When asked about it on Australian television last year, Hastings said the company had no intention of trying to get Australian users to stop using VPNs to get to the American library.
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