With the specter of Net Neutrality rearing its ugly head yet again, Netflix and a number of other companies took part in a bit of protest that was designed to show people what might happen if the rules of the Internet were actually changed. The protest was actually a way to make a call to congress in order to get stronger net-neutrality regulations.
Netflix, as well as dozens of other sites, including Reddit, Digg, Mozilla, Imgur and Etsy (News - Alert) announced they were all going to be taking part in the protest and they all carried out the protest in a variety of ways. Netflix, for its part, had a little spinning dial that was meant to look much like a loading message. The dial was accompanied with a message that people might have to deal with this issue quite a bit more if ISPs have their way.
The company did indeed have the spinning wheel on member and non-member pages but it was careful not to actually slow down videos. While Netflix has an invested interest in making sure Net Neutrality rules are made better, the company didn’t want to anger any of its customers. This is the reason why this particular protest might have fallen a bit short. The point was definitely made, especially by sites like Reddit that aren’t looking to make a buck from their customers.
Netflix made its point to a lesser extent but whether or not the company is going to get the reaction it wanted from lawmakers has yet to be seen. The firm is working on several different levels in order to keep Congress from siding with companies that Netflix is currently in a cold war with. Part of the reason this protest isn’t standing out as strong is because the original fight against easing Net Neutrality laws saw companies shutting down while others blacked out their logos. The fight doesn’t appear to be over and it seems as if sites like Netflix are going to be finding new way to wage that fight.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi
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