If there is one thing I find joy in, it’s the cycle of watching a major corporation announce a major policy change, an adjustment to a rule, or choose to implement a decision, and then immediately backpedaling when the public’s response is not what they thought it would be. 

The most recent example I can think of is Netflix’s decision to limit password sharing, and the absolute public thrashing they received over it.

For anyone who may not be in the know, in October of 2022 streaming giant Netflix announced that they would be changing their policy regarding password sharing, and instead would be charging people to share a single account. In a letter to shareholders, the company said that password sharing was a practice common in over 100 million households and that it “Undermines our ability to invest and improve.”

I think that anyone who has used Netflix in the past year can confirm that sharing passwords was not the thing that was taking the company down. In fact, if we listen to consumers, I’m pretty sure the increase in streaming competition, limited content, Netflix’s decision to cancel a number of its original programs after just two seasons regardless of popularity, and the most recent price increase following the cheaper ad supported plan (you know, adding the very thing people turned to streaming to avoid) is what was making them lose subscribers. Now, to add in the announcement that despite people already paying to be able to watch Netflix on multiple different screens at the same time, I guess you could see how there was a ramp up to the absolute outcry they received by adding yet another stipulation to be able to use their service.

The first week of February, Netflix posted the new guidelines. By tracking your IP information on digital devices, users would be required to log in to their “home Wi-Fi” once every 30 days to be able to access their account. Now I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, dear reader, why this could be a problem for college students, those who are deployed, or anyone who travels frequently.

Within days “Cancel Netflix” was trending across social media. My family began to rearrange our streaming bartering system to account for a loss of Netflix (It wasn’t hard), and people were saying goodbye and announcing their decision to cancel on every social media post made by the company.

If there is one thing consumers like, it’s convenience, affordability and entertainment, and Netflix was providing none of those things. Less than 48 hours later the company claimed that the rules were posted by mistake, and that they would only be affecting account holders in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, and that they went live in other countries by mistake.

Consumers have realized how much buying power their limited expendable income truly holds. While it is unclear if these rules will ever reach the U.S. following this debacle, consumers are getting a taste of what speaking with money can do.

As AMC Theatres announce a plan to begin charging by seat location in their movie theaters, I can’t wait for next week’s episode of “You Aren’t Owed Our Money, American Customer Edition.”