Taking a stand against foreign pirates who access its services without permission, Hulu is now blocking anyone attempting to use their website while connected to the web via a VPN, according to a TorrentFreak report. As of writing the blockade hasn’t been announced publicly by the company.

Hulu, the largest public movie and TV streaming service in the United States, has reportedly created an extensive blocklist of IP addresses which covers IP ranges of all major VPN services. Since late last week if you try to access the website through one of these IPs, you won't be allowed to view any content on the site, and you'll get the following message instead:

However, the move also blocks actual US-based users who use VPN services for improved privacy. Several major VPN service providers including VikingVPN, TorGuard, Private Internet Access, and others, are now dealing with customer complaints over the issue.

“Private Internet Access exists to protect the privacy of netizens everywhere. Many of our customers leave their Private Internet Access accounts enabled 24/7/365. It is unfortunate that Hulu is blocking VPN service IPs”, said Andrew Lee, CEO of Private Internet Access. He also said that the company is engaged in discussion with Hulu to fix the problem.

For those looking for workarounds, a dedicated VPN IP could be a good quick fix. According to TorGuard, a number of users have already opted for the solution, and the company is planning to roll out more dedicated IPs which are likely to remain undetected.

Moreover, the ban is only effective for IP addresses that make it to Hulu's blacklist. It isn't yet clear how often the company will be updating this list however.