Europe is urging Netflix and other streaming platforms to stop showing videos (HD videos) to prevent the internet from "crashing". We are experiencing unprecedented and difficult times. The coronavirus has created many new needs and one of them is increased internet use.
Most countries are taking daily measures to combat the spread of the virus. One of them is working from home. At the moment, the coronavirus has forced millions of workers around the world to work from home. At the same time, children and students are not going to school and university respectively. Governments are advising all users to stay at home. For this reason, Europe is concerned about the huge pressure on internet bandwidth and is urging Netflix, streaming services and mobile companies to take measures.
European Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the EU’s internal market, which covers more than 450 million people, tweeted on Wednesday evening that he had spoken to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings about the decision to stop streaming HD videos. Breton called on people and companies to “#SwitchtoStandard when HD is not necessary.” This measure is necessary so that everyone can access the internet and do their jobs.
A Netflix spokesperson told CNN Business that Hastings and Breton will speak again today about HD videos.
“Commissioner Breton is right to emphasize the importance of keeping the internet smoothly at this critical time,” the Netflix spokesperson said.
Netflix said it is already adjusting streaming quality and is seriously considering discontinuing HD videos.
Facebook also recognizes the impact of the pandemic on its platform .
In a phone call with reporters, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook's services are being used much more as the coronavirus forces millions of people to stay home.
He specifically said that its usage during this period almost exceeds its usage during the New Year. In particular, voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have doubled.
