Europe considers making big tech pay for building the Internet


A report commissioned by Europe’s telecom lobby group ETNO found that 56% of global traffic from 2021 was generated by Google, Meta, Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. — AFP

When binge-watching TV became a universal pastime at the height of the pandemic, one of Europe’s top officials called the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Netflix Inc. and told him to make his product worse.

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wanted Netflix to reduce the quality of its videos to free up bandwidth, fearing that Europe’s networks were under strain. Reed Hastings complied, cutting data output by about 25% for a month. So did YouTube.

Subscribe now and receive FREE sooka plan for 1 month.
T&C applies.

Monthly Plan

RM13.90/month

Annual Plan

RM12.33/month

Billed as RM148.00/year

1 month

Free Trial

For new subscribers only


Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In Tech News

US Cellular to sell some spectrum licenses to AT&T for $1 billion
Datadog raises annual forecast betting on AI-driven cybersecurity demand
Italy minister open to reviewing tax hike on cryptocurrencies
Dutch chipmaker NXP sees sales growth averaging 6-10% -CEO
Italy to change web tax in bid to overcome US objections
JAL-Sumitomo JV secures right to place order for up to 100 Archer air-taxis
Software provider EPAM lifts annual forecasts as IT spending rises
India raids offices of sellers using Amazon, Flipkart platforms, sources say
Arm Holdings shares fall as revenue forecast fails to impress investors
Amazon to invest $1.3 billion in Italy data centre business

Others Also Read