Right on schedule, Netflix has started blocking some subscribers who are using VPNs.

On January 14, Netflix said that it would begin cracking down on customers who use VPNs, proxies, or other "unblocking" services to view content that shouldn't be available in their country. The move is almost certain to appease copyright holders and broadcasters. Way back in 2014, Sony Pictures accused Netflix of "semi-sanctioning" piracy by allowing "illegal subscribers" to view geoblocked content.

The first report of Netflix blocking a VPN comes from uFlix, an Australian VPN service that charges AUD$2 (£1) per month for the ability to view Netflix content from around the globe:

Some users are starting to have issues with Netflix blocking non-Australian content when going through uFlix. Though it is only affecting a few users at the moment, we expect this number to grow. We are working on a solution to get around these new measures and apologise for the inconvenience to those who are currently only getting Australian Netflix.

When blocked users try to access Netflix, they see the following message: "You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again."

It's fairly safe to assume that Netflix has also started blocking other VPNs and proxies, too. We don't have any technical details of how Netflix is actually applying the blocks, but the fact that only some uFlix customers are affected would suggest that Netflix is manually blocking specific IP addresses rather than using some kind of automated "unblocking detection" system.

Back on January 10, before Netflix announced its intention to block VPNs and proxies, the company curiously admitted that it would be "trivial" for the VPN and proxy providers to evade the block by switching to a new IP address.