Plex Moves to Block Users From Using Select Server Hosting Company; Policy Likely Intended to Curb Piracy
Plex users know quite well their subscription to the service gives them access to a huge variety of features that most streaming platforms don’t offer. That’s because Plex isn’t just a streaming platform; it also allows subscribers to set up their own media servers to upload and share their content with others.
The problem with that flexibility is that users can, if they choose, upload illegally obtained content without following proper copyright laws. According to TorrentFreak, Plex is attempting to cut down on pirated material exchanged on its media servers by blocking the accounts of users whose servers are hosted by the German hosting company Hetzner.
In an email sent to Plex customers who are using Hetzner to host their server, Plex says that the hosting service those customers have picked has committed a number of “large-scale violations” of its terms of service. In order to stop those violations, access to that provider will be blocked starting Oct. 12, 2023.
The notification does not specifically mention that the violations cited are piracy-related, nor does it mention Hetzner by name. But thus far, Hetzner customers are the only Plex users to report to Torrent Freak that they’ve gotten the email from Plex. The move could definitely mean that users who aren’t accessing or trading pirated material on Plex are blocked despite their innocence, but the violations are apparently egregious enough to warrant such a move.
“We can’t say much about this, except that we very much regret the action taken by Plex,” Hetzner’s spokesperson Christian Fitz told TorrentFreak.
This move won’t have much, if any effect on users who go to Plex to watch free streaming titles. The service now offers nearly 1,000 free streaming channels around the globe, and has seen a 54% year-over-year rise in the number of viewers who watch its free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels in 2023. FAST channels now account for 39% of all content viewed on Plex.
Right now, new Plex customers can get a lifetime subscription to the Plex Pass for just $95.99, 20% off the normal retail price. If you’ve been interested in the Plex Pass, sign up today, but you may want to choose a company besides Hetzner to host your Plex server if you do; according to Plex, its users will soon be blocked from their Plex servers.
Plex
Plex is a free streaming service that includes on-demand access to 50,000+ movies and TV shows. The service also offers 1,100+ free-to-stream live TV channels in 193 countries. Users can also connect Plex to their computers to stream and share any media they have on their hard drives.