Was Netflix was just acting tough when it announced plans to crack down on proxies like VPN services that allow users to access content that isn't available in their region? Nope. The company means business, and has already started blocking some users from accessing restricted content.

A company called uFlix, which provides an "unblocking service" that circumvents geographic restrictions, reports that some of its Australian users are running into trouble when trying to access non-Australian content on Netflix.

Affected users are apparently seeing a message that says: "You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again." 

"Though it is only affecting a few users at the moment, we expect this number to grow," uFlix said. "We are working on a solution to get around these new measures and apologize for the inconvenience to those who are currently only getting Australian Netflix."

Netflix licenses content by geographic territories, meaning the TV shows and movies available on the service differ, to varying degrees, by region.

"We look forward to offering all of our content everywhere and to consumers being able to enjoy all of Netflix without using a proxy," Netflix's Vice President of Content Delivery Architecture, David Fullagar, said last week. "That's the goal we will keep pushing towards."

For now, the company will "continue to respect and enforce content licensing by geographic location," he said.

Netflix arrived in Australia in March 2015, though it had a presence there well before that thanks to VPN services. In November 2014, Sandvine reported that Netflix appeared as a top 10 app in Australia during the second half of the year, even though it has not yet launched in the country.

About a year ago, news emerged that Netflix was cracking down on those who used VPNs to access restricted content, but Netflix said it had not changed its policy. "We use industry standard methods to block VPNs. Always have and always will," it said at the time.

But one year and a global rollout later, Netflix was ready to get tough. Though it has a variety of impressive original content to offer its customers, Netflix must still broker licensing deals with studios for everything else. But those studios are likely less inclined to make deals with Netflix if the company cannot ensure that geographic restrictions will be enforced.