Living abroad, it's normal to feel nostalgic for TV shows or movies from your home country. However, downloading copyrighted content through torrents is against the law in Germany and can get you in trouble. To stay safe, it's better to check out legal options like subscribing to streaming platforms that have international content, or subscribing to a VPN service.
It might be surprising, but streaming torrents is considered illegal in Germany, and engaging in such activity can result in substantial fines, potentially reaching thousands of euros.
In This Guide
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Does Germany have a streaming ban?
To put it simply, watching pirated movies and shows online became against the law in 2017 because of a decision by a European court.
In Germany, breaking copyright rules is illegal, and that includes streaming videos from websites like 123movies, 0gomovies, or others that don't follow copyright laws. But it's okay to use services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Twitch, and YouTube because they're completely legal.
Be careful: if you share or download content online without having proper consent, you could get fined around 1000€, even if you didn't know it was wrong.
On top of illegal streaming, Germany also doesn't allow using torrents.
What are some legal streaming services in Germany?
In Germany, accessing online streaming services that either create original content or secure the necessary copyrights to stream movies, TV shows, and more is entirely legal. Some of the streaming services that operate in Germany are:
Amazon Prime
Netflix
Apple TV
YouTube
Magenta TV by Telekom
WOW
Sky
Rakuten TV
Is VPN legal in Germany?
Yes! Germany is one of those countries that consider privacy very seriously. If you are looking to unblock geo restricted content in Germany or to protect your privacy while surfing the web, you can use VPN services.
Which VPN Is The Best In Germany?
From hundreds of VPN services available on the internet, we've selected the three we consider to be the best in our experience.
NordVPN
NordVPN is considered one of the best VPNs in Germany. In addition to offering service in almost every country, they also provide the fastest speeds and can unblock almost any geo-blocked content!
However, sad news to Indians living in Germany. Due to the recent amendments in the cybersecurity directives in India, NordVPN along with few other VPN services has removed its servers from India.
Besides seasonal offers like Halloween and New Year, NordVPN often offers reduced prices on its website. Take advantage of their current offer by visiting their website.
PureVPN
PureVPN claims to have you bypass internet restrictions. It allows you to bypass internet censorship and geo blocked content. Therefore, you have unrestricted access to websites, streaming services, live events, and much more.
PureVPN has found a way around the latest cybersecurity regulations in India. They route the traffic to India via Indonesia. With a limited speed, you still have the possibility to watch content from India with PureVPN.
Express VPN
ExpressVPN proves its worth with a large collection of privacy tools, an excellent app, and unlimited device connections.
Like NordVPN and others, ExpressVPN also had to remove its servers from India due to the regulations. However, they've reinstated the servers, and now the connection and content unlocking work without any problems.
Conclusion
Despite Germany's strict laws protecting privacy and preventing piracy, people try to find alternatives every day. It is important to keep in mind, that every piece of content is made with a purpose and must be viewed at its best quality possible.
In our experience, Spending a couple of euros on quality streaming services is far more worthwhile than watching content in poor quality visuals and audio and paying thousands euros in fines.
It is important to note that you can still be fined if you live with others in your flat who use torrent or pirated streaming services. If the contract is in your name, the authority will not ask you whether it was you or somebody else in your apartment who used the illegal service.
If you receive a fine, you need to prove that it was your flatmate who had used the illegal service. However, to prove this, you may have to go to great lengths.
