Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has no issue with account sharing, says it's a 'positive thing' for company

Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, doesn’t have a problem with users sharing accounts. In fact, he encourages it.

Giving out passwords has been open to question in the online streaming world, but during an announcement at CES 2016 about Netflix going global last week, Hastings made it clear.

“We love people sharing Netflix whether they’re two people on a couch or 10 people on a couch,” he said. “That’s a positive thing, not a negative thing.”

As an example, Hastings talked about children who watch content on their parents’ accounts then grow up into young adults and create their own, TechCrunch reports.

“As kids move on in their life, they like to have control of their life, and as they have an income, we see them separately subscribe,” he said. “It really hasn’t been a problem.”

Hastings’ comments about sharing account passwords mirror HBO CEO Robert Plepler’s from 2014, who called users who share their HBO passwords a great marketing tool.