Netflix CEO Reed Hastings today announced that Netflix would be integrating tightly with Facebook much in the way that it is working with music, but that due to laws in the US, it would not be available there yet. It will be available in 44 other countries around the world however.
The privacy law that is preventing the integration from being launched in the US is being debated today in Congress and Hastings expressed hope that this would enable them to offer the integration soon.
This new feature will be available before the end of September to Netflix members outside the U.S. We won’t yet enable it for U.S. members due to a 1980s law that creates some confusion over our ability to allow U.S. members to share what they watch.
Netflix describes how the feature will work:
As soon as the feature is enabled, you will see an option in the Netflix user interface to connect to Facebook. After connecting your Netflix account to Facebook, you will see what your friends are watching on any device that streams from Netflix, provided your friends are also connected.
The integration is definitely coming to Canada and Latin America soon, with more countries to follow.
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