TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsYouTube to reduce streaming quality in Europe due to coronavirus
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
YouTube is the second company after Netflix to act after EU industry chief Thierry Breton urged streaming platforms to cut the quality of their videos to prevent Internet gridlock. (Shutterstock/Alexey Boldin)
A
lphabet Inc's YouTube said on Friday it will reduce its streaming quality in the European Union to avoid straining the internet as thousands of Europeans, constrained by the coronavirus outbreak, switch to teleworking and watch videos at home.
YouTube is the second company after Netflix to act after EU industry chief Thierry Breton urged streaming platforms to cut the quality of their videos to prevent Internet gridlock.
Videos account for a substantial part of internet traffic data.
The move came after Mr Breton spoke to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. It said so far it had seen only a few usage peaks, but decided to act to minimize stress on the system.
"We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default," the company said in a statement.
Standard definition videos are not as detailed or as sharp as high definition videos.
Europe's telecoms providers, from Vodafone to Deutsche Telekom, have reported a spike in data traffic in recent days, forcing Mr Breton to issue his pre-emptive call before the Internet breaks down.
