Afia Ohemeng
Movie streaming service Netflix has been urged to slow down its streaming in a bid to stop the internet from breaking.
Netflix and other streaming platforms are being asked to stop providing streaming services in extremely high definition by the European Union (E.U). Due to the coronavirus, the internet is under a much heavier strain than it usually is. The pandemic has forced many people (parents children, aging adults, business owners etc) across the world to stay at home or work from home.
The E.U Commissioner in charge of the internal market made a tweet stating that the some talks with the CEO of Netflix actually happened as reported by other media houses. The commissioner, Thierry Breton urged companies to make a #switchtostandard definition for its viewers.
The commissioner is expected to talk with Netflix’ CEO Hastings on Thursday.
“Commissioner Breton is right to highlight the importance of ensuring that the internet continues to run smoothly during this critical time,” a Netflix spokesperson said. ”
According to Netflix the quality of streams is already adjusted to available network capacity. The streaming service also uses a delivery system that uses less bandwidth
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Facebook’ (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged on Wednesday that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are also stretching the app to its limit.
In a meeting with reporters, Zuckerberg said the Coronavirus which has caused millions to stay at home has resulted in huge surges. According to him, compared to New Year’s Eve demand, this months demands are going through the roof.
