The phrase refers to situations where users of a shared YouTube Premium family plan are detected violating the service’s terms of service. This typically involves individuals not residing at the same address as the plan’s manager sharing the subscription, which contradicts the intended use of the family plan. For example, if the account manager lives in California, and the other family members are detected using the account regularly from New York, this would be a violation.
This issue highlights the challenges subscription services face in enforcing geographical restrictions on shared accounts. The family plan model offers affordability by allowing multiple users under one subscription, but it is intended for co-residing family members. Circumventing these rules undermines the revenue model for content creators and the platform itself, as more users are accessing the service for a lower cost than intended. Historically, companies have struggled to balance user convenience with the need to protect their business model and content rights.
