AGAINST THE STREAM

Netflix Urged to Ditch HD to Stop Internet From Breaking During Coronavirus Pandemic

Hundreds of millions of people are working from home and European officials are worried that the internet won’t be able to cope.

Netflix has been urged to stop showing video in high definition to prevent the internet from buckling under the strain of unprecedented use while the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe are working from home and European officials are concerned that the internet won’t be able to cope. European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who’s responsible for the European Union’s internal market, said Wednesday night that he had spoken with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and had urged him to “#SwitchtoStandard definition when HD is not necessary.” According to CNN, Netflix said in a statement: “Commissioner Breton is right to highlight the importance of ensuring that the internet continues to run smoothly during this critical time... We've been focused on network efficiency for many years, including providing our open connect service for free to telecommunications companies.”