Schools cannot use personal HBO, Netflix, or Disney+ accounts to stream movies to students due to several legal and contractual reasons related to copyright, licensing, and the terms of service of these platforms. Here’s a detailed explanation:

1. Copyright Laws and Public Performance

Movies, TV shows, and other content on streaming services are protected by copyright, which gives the creators exclusive rights to control how their works are distributed, performed, and displayed. The public performance of copyrighted material — such as showing it in a classroom — requires specific permission from the copyright holder. Personal streaming accounts do not provide these public performance rights, meaning a school cannot legally show content from HBO, Netflix, or Disney+ to students unless they have the correct licensing.

2. Streaming Service Terms of Service

Each of these streaming services (HBO, Netflix, Disney+) has terms of service that are tailored for personal, non-commercial use. When you sign up for an account, you agree to use the service only for private viewing, not for public display or for commercial purposes. These terms specifically prohibit using the accounts to stream content in public spaces like classrooms.

  • HBO: The terms restrict viewing to personal use and generally prohibit public display or reproduction.
  • Netflix: Netflix explicitly states that content is for personal, non-commercial viewing, which includes a ban on using their service for educational purposes in public settings.
  • Disney+: Similarly, Disney+ allows content for personal, non-commercial use only and does not grant public performance rights.

3. Licensing Restrictions

When streaming services acquire movies and TV shows, they negotiate specific licensing deals with content creators and distributors. These deals usually restrict the ways the content can be distributed and shown. The licenses that streaming platforms like HBO, Netflix, and Disney+ obtain are meant for individual, home use, not for public performances in schools, libraries, or other public venues.

For a school to legally show movies to students, they need a separate license. For example, companies like Swank Motion Pictures provide educational institutions with the appropriate licenses for streaming or showing movies in the classroom.

4. Fair Use and Educational Exceptions

There is a concept in copyright law known as "fair use," which allows for limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, comment, teaching, scholarship, or research. However, fair use in an educational context is very limited and typically applies only in specific circumstances, such as showing a small excerpt of a film for analysis in a classroom, not the full movie. Moreover, showing an entire movie to a class usually falls outside of fair use, especially when it is done using a personal subscription rather than through a licensed educational service.

5. Educational Licenses

To legally show movies in classrooms, schools need an educational license, which is different from a personal streaming account subscription. Several services cater specifically to educational content and offer schools the necessary licenses to show films to students. 

Conclusion:

In short, schools cannot use personal HBO, Netflix, or Disney+ accounts to stream movies to students because these accounts are meant for personal, non-commercial viewing. Legal and licensing restrictions require schools to obtain the proper educational rights or licenses for public performance, which these streaming services do not provide through their personal accounts. Schools must use services that are specifically designed for educational use to ensure they are complying with copyright law.