Yes. You read it right! The European union is slightly disturbed by the fact that a disruption in the internet could lead to total chaos than it already is. Majority of adults are working from home in EU countries besides US, UK and Canada. They want Netflix and YouTube to limit their streaming quality so that it doesn’t overburden the entire servers.
If the internet goes, it could cause further chaos amid the COVID19 situation. People are working from home while kids are receiving their entertainment and education over streaming services. It has taken a hit on the server capacity as they are usually designed to handle stress in weekend nights and evenings.
In their statement, EU has advised that Netflix, YouTube and other major services should consider streaming only in standard definition. They should remove HD and 4K streaming so that it helps maintain data consumption as well as reduce stress on servers. After all, people have started using their internet in more ways throughout the day due to work-based video calling, streaming and more as everyone is home all-day long.
The domestic broadband connections may not be able to cope up with this as a 75 percent surge in internet traffic has been witnessed in the past week. The video conferencing services are competing with online gaming and movie streaming which are traditional platforms. They often take a lion’s share leaving little for home-based workers. EU wants the companies to ration their internet so as to avoid any disruption.