Limitation of Liability and As-Is Service Disclaimer

What it is

Netflix makes no guarantees about the quality or availability of its service, and disclaims liability for virtually all categories of damages, including personal injury and consequential damages, to the extent permitted by law.

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This provision significantly limits your ability to recover damages from Netflix if the service fails, is unavailable, or causes harm, though the clause includes a carve-out acknowledging that non-waivable statutory rights under applicable law are preserved.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Under these Terms, Netflix is not financially responsible for service outages, errors, or harm caused by the service or its content, which means consumers bear the risk of disruptions without a contractual remedy beyond cancellation, subject to whatever rights applicable law preserves.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Blanket liability disclaimers in consumer contracts are subject to state consumer protection laws and the principle that non-waivable statutory rights cannot be contracted away. Section 5.4 of the Terms acknowledges this with the carve-out for statutory rights. The FTC Act's prohibition on unfair or deceptive practices may limit the enforceability of disclaimers that are not clearly communicated. In the EU, the Consumer Rights Directive and national consumer protection laws impose mandatory liability standards that cannot be waived by contract, though this Terms version is US-specific. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. As-is disclaimers and consequential damage exclusions are standard in consumer software and streaming service agreements and are generally well-established in the industry. However, the breadth of the disclaimer, including the personal injury exclusion, may face scrutiny in jurisdictions that do not permit waiver of personal injury liability. The practical enforceability of these disclaimers varies by state. JURISDICTION FLAGS: California, New Jersey, and other states with strong implied warranty and consumer protection statutes may limit the enforceability of as-is disclaimers against consumers. Personal injury liability waivers are generally unenforceable as a matter of public policy in most US states. The Delaware choice-of-law provision interacts with the state-of-residence carve-out in Section 7.1, creating potential for conflicting standards. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: The extension of the liability disclaimer to Netflix's subsidiaries, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, and licensors is standard but broad. Procurement teams evaluating Netflix as a vendor should note that this disclaimer would not apply in the reverse direction; separate contractual liability terms would govern B2B relationships. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should confirm that the personal injury liability waiver is jurisdictionally appropriate and not applied in states where it is per se unenforceable. The as-is disclaimer should be reviewed in the context of any service level representations made in marketing materials to ensure consistency and avoid a deceptive practices exposure.

Applicable agencies

Applicable regulations

Provision details

Other risks in this policy

• Mandatory Arbitration Requirement high
• Class Action and Jury Trial Waiver high
• Subscription Auto-Renewal and No-Refund Policy medium
• AI and Machine Learning Use Prohibition medium
• Advertising on Ad-Free Subscription Plans medium
• Account Sharing Household Restriction medium