I suppose a Hulu subscriber could dispute the charge or file a suit (class action?) for damages: "Hulu took my money, but didn't provide the services they advertised." As an ISP, some of us might even be in a position where we encounter losses due to Hulu's (mis)classification resulting in customers moving to the competition; I would think that would be sufficient grounds for a suit.
I think you are exactly right here. It’s yet another example of how the incentives around DRM are all messed up and are creating economic bias in favor of screwing consumers as much as possible without loosing too much revenue.
On Nov 20, 2019, at 07:38 , Tom Beecher <beecher@beecher.cc> wrote:
Never did figure out if it was stupidity
or malice driving that.
Personally I think it's neither; it's just $$$$$.
They could invest in a robust system to accurately identify what they chose not to allow to access the service. Or, they can choose to run with a 'close enough' system with some legitimate users caught in the middle.
They've most likely done the math and decided that the revenue lost from people getting caught up in inaccurate blocking is small enough that the investment in a more accurate method isn't worth it. This is unfortunately the more common decision in this age of worship at the Altar of Maximum Shareholder Value.
What is needed is either a more conscientious consumer base that will see this and react by voting with their wallets, or, regulation which provides more costly penalties for screwing over legitimate consumers.
Owen