“I Paid for an Annual Plan for My Whole Family to Use”... OTT Suddenly Blocks Account Sharing [The Essentials of Consumption]

[Financial News]#. “I paid for an annual plan because it said four people could use it together, and now they suddenly say they’re blocking account sharing?”Person A had used an annual plan for several years after seeing an advertisement from an over-the-top (OTT) service provider stating that four people, such as family members or romantic partners, could use the service simultaneously. In November of the year before last, Person A paid 112,000 won to renew the plan without suspecting anything unusual.
However, in March of last year, the provider suddenly announced an account-sharing restriction policy. Starting in July, only the member and “members of the same household” would be allowed to watch. One TV in the household would be automatically registered as the primary device, and other devices would have to be connected to the same internet protocol (IP) address as that TV to access the service.
Person A had already paid for an annual plan on the understanding that four people could use it simultaneously and felt it was unfair for the terms to change during the contract period. The new policy also conflicted with the provider’s previous advertisements and its practice of allowing account sharing. Person A was particularly concerned that if the TV was no longer used, it might become difficult to use the account on other devices. As a result, Person A sought damage relief from the Korea Consumer Agency to preserve the existing terms of use.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) on the 6th, Article 13 of the Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce requires mail-order businesses to faithfully and in good faith honor the terms of a transaction that they have displayed, advertised, or notified to consumers. Under Article 17 of the same act, consumers may also withdraw an offer within a specified period if the service is provided differently from its advertisements or contract terms.
The provider used advertisements in 2022 and 2023 indicating that four people—including family members, romantic partners, or friends—could use the service together. It also did not separately restrict account sharing afterward.
The KCA determined that applying new restrictions during the contract period to consumers who had already purchased annual plans could disadvantage them and recommended withdrawing the account-sharing restriction policy. It also called for system improvements because automatically registering a TV as the primary device could restrict access to the account itself if the TV was no longer used.
The provider accepted the recommendation and decided not to apply the account-sharing restriction policy to users who had paid for annual plans by March 25 of last year. For new subscribers, it agreed to explain during the subscription process that account use would be permitted only for the member or, exceptionally, members of the same household.
The KCA advised consumers to avoid long-term contracts whenever possible when using OTT services, in order to reduce losses caused by service changes or sudden interruptions. A KCA official urged consumers, “If a service is changed in a way that disadvantages consumers or is discontinued without notice, secure evidence by taking screenshots of the relevant information or situation and use it later to recover any losses.”
[email protected] Hyun-ji Kim Reporter