With many people stuck at home quarantined during the coronavirus, more than ever people are turning to Netflix to keep them occupied. The streaming service has already implemented new ways to keep people interested while adhering to social distancing. However, the European Union is now asking Netflix to slow things down, or else they could break the internet.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who is responsible for the EU internal market covering more than 450 million people, is calling on Netflix to switch to standard definition as the current large usage rate could put a huge strain on internet bandwidth. In a tweet sent out Wednesday, Breton claimed he recently spoke with Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, and asked for the streaming service to “#SwitchToStandard definition when HD is not necessary.”
While Netflix is determined to make sure their service doesn’t break the internet, they responded by saying “We've been focused on network efficiency for many years, including providing our open connect service for free to telecommunications companies." Netflix isn’t the only internet service that has seen a huge jump in usage rates while people are quarantined at home, as Facebook too has reported “big surges.” Hopefully the issue gets solved quickly, or many may be without internet while stuck at home.
Via CNN