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Plex, a popular media software and service, has long been a go-to platform for millions of users to curate, organize, share, and stream video content. While the technology itself is content-neutral, it has been subjected to both legitimate and illegitimate uses. The latter includes the creation and sharing of copyright-infringing content via Plex servers, sometimes even for a fee. This misuse has not gone unnoticed by rightsholders, who have taken action leading to the shutdown of many shared servers. In an effort to curb this abuse, Plex has decided to take a stand.
Plex Piracy & Hetzner
The company, which is actively collaborating with rightsholders to provide legal entertainment, has announced that it will no longer allow users to run servers at hosting providers where numerous Terms of Service (TOS) violations occur. Although copyright infringement was not explicitly mentioned, the move seems to be primarily aimed at combating piracy. The first to feel the impact of this decision is the large German hosting company, Hetzner. Plex has informed its users, via email, that access from Hetzner will be blocked in the coming month.
The email did not specifically name Hetzner, nor did it cite piracy as the reason. Instead, it referred to the hosting provider as a source of significant TOS violations. This blanket ban could potentially affect legitimate customers who use Hetzner’s services for non-infringing purposes, such as storing personal media collections. Some Plex users have criticized this as a “sledgehammer approach”, suggesting that those misusing the service will simply relocate, leading to a perpetual game of whack-a-mole. Interestingly, some users reported using Hetzner’s services as a VPN to shield the location of their actual Plex server. These VPN proxies, however, will not be exempt from the ban.
It is likely that Plex will ban the hosting company’s IP addresses, prompting customers to switch to another provider and use that as a VPN gateway instead. Despite potential workarounds being actively discussed on platforms like Reddit, Plex’s move is a clear signal of its commitment to fight piracy. Copyright holders have been urging Plex to take more action against piracy, and this recent change seems to be another step in that direction. It is likely that this won’t be the last measure Plex takes to protect its platform from abuse.
About the Author
John Biggs is an entrepreneur, consultant, writer, and maker. He spent fifteen years as an editor for Gizmodo, CrunchGear, and TechCrunch and has a deep background in hardware startups, 3D printing, and blockchain. His work has appeared in Men’s Health, Wired, and the New York Times.
