Netflix and Net Neutrality
Netflix and Net Neutrality
For anyone remotely connected to technology, the idea that net neutrality is an unabashed good seems incontrovertible, and one of the most popular examples of why it matters is Netflix. Consumers get a video competitor to their cable provider over said cable provider’s pipes; surely the end of net neutrality would mean the end of Netflix! For example, consider this section from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings’ 2014 letter to shareholders :
Unfortunately, Verizon successfully challenged the U.S. net neutrality rules. In principle, a domestic ISP now can legally impede the video streams that members request from Netflix, degrading the experience we jointly provide. The motivation could be to get Netflix to pay fees to stop this degradation. Were this draconian scenario to unfold with some ISP, we would vigorously protest and encourage our members to demand the open Internet they are paying their ISP to deliver.
And yet, just last week, Netflix – without much protest – did exactly what Hastings described: they paid Comcast to stop the degradation of Netflix’s services, and are expected to reach a deal with Verizon and other ISPs soon. The stock market promptly punished Netflix, sending the stock down 3.4 percent the day after the announcement.
Oh, wait, never mind: the stock was up 3.4 percent, hitting an all-time high of $447. This may be the opposite of what most tech observers expected, but Wall Street is not stupid: this is a great deal for Netflix, a company who has every incentive to not support true, end-to-end net neutrality.
Defining Net Neutrality
The first problem with the net neutrality debate is that there are three competing definitions:
- The public definition – For most people, particularly those of us in the tech industry, net neutrality means non-discrimination against packets from origin to destination. A packet from Netflix or YouTube or PornHub or the New York Times is treated and priced the exact same from server to client and back again.
文章版权归原作者所有。
