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

[Financial News]#. “I paid for an annual subscription because it said four people could use it together, but now you’re suddenly blocking account sharing?”Consumer A had used an annual subscription for several years after seeing an online video service (OTT) provider’s advertisement stating that four people, such as family members or romantic partners, could use the service simultaneously. In November the year before last, Consumer A renewed the subscription without suspicion, paying 112,000 won.
However, in March last year, the provider suddenly announced an account-sharing restriction policy. Starting in July, only “members of the same household,” apart from the account holder, would be allowed to watch the service. One TV in the household would be automatically registered as the primary device, and other devices would have to connect to the same internet address (IP) as that TV to access the service.
Consumer A felt it was unfair for the provider to change the terms during the contract period after the annual subscription had already been purchased on the understanding that four people could use it simultaneously. The change, Consumer A argued, contradicted the provider’s previous advertisements and its practice of allowing account sharing. Consumer A was particularly concerned that if the TV was no longer used, accessing the account from other devices could become difficult. As a result, Consumer A filed for dispute mediation with the Korea Consumer Agency to preserve the existing terms of use.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency 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 from a contract within a specified period when the service is provided differently from the 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 a new restriction during the contract period to consumers who had already purchased annual subscriptions 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 consumer stopped using the TV.
The provider accepted the recommendation and decided not to apply the account-sharing restriction policy to users who had paid for an annual subscription by March 25 last year. For new subscribers, it will explain during the subscription process that account use is permitted only by the account holder or, in limited cases, members of the same household.
As a consumer precaution, 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 disadvantageous direction or discontinued without notice, secure evidence—such as screenshots of the relevant information or situation—and use it later to recover any losses.” 
[email protected] Kim Hyun-ji Reporter