Net Neutrality Lie Reminder: Netflix Fakes Service Slowdowns – and Blames ISPs

I was contacted a lot last week – asking for my response to this:

Netflix Went Down for Users Across the World in Mysterious Major Outage, Following Net Neutrality Repeal

Well that’s an amazing coincidence.

Just last Monday was the day the Donald Trump Administration officially ended the Barack Obama Administration’s huge Internet power grab – executed under the rubric of the very awful idea known as Network Neutrality.

(For a primer on why Net Neutrality in any form is so stupid and awful, please enjoy this video.)

And lo and behold…immediately after Net Neutrality ends, Netflix – the planet’s biggest bandwidth hog – suffers a service outage.

And as that headline hopes you’ll infer – the end of Net Neutrality and the Netflix outage have very much to do with one another.

Net Neutrality and the Netflix outage have absolutely nothing to do with one another – as we’ll soon show.

But the Media-Left never allow facts to get in the way of a good beating.

Was that the only news outlet hoping you’ll infer that non-existent connection?  Heavens no.

What the Net Neutrality Rollback Means for Netflix Users:

“Have you used Netflix lately? If the answer is yes, today’s news could affect how you stream.

Without net neutrality, an ISP like Optimum, Verizon, or Comcast could potentially slow down or block access to services like Netflix or Hulu, as many ISPs run competitive streaming services to which they hope to draw consumers. Comcast, for example, has its Xfinity TV app.

“By slowing down stream speeds for services like Netflix, ISPs can give themselves key advantages. First, frustrated users are likely to flock to their streaming products, and secondly, Netflix — unwilling to lose any of its 93 million subscribers — will be forced to pay the ISP for access to faster speeds.”

Even the technological genius that is alleged “comedian” Jimmy Kimmel parroted the Party line.

Netflix Embraces Net Neutrality:

“Without Net Neutrality rules, big corporations like Verizon and Comcast can control the speed of your internet connection to make certain pages fast and others slow depending on how much they pay them.

“This could have a major impact on companies like Netflix which rely on speedy Internet connections to stream their shows. But the folks at Netflix aren’t dummies, they released a first-look at a new show that makes the most of and welcomes the end of net neutrality.”

Actually, Netflix made no such show.  Team Unfunny at the Kimmel Show did.  And it was…unfunny.

Netflix did weigh in the the rollback of Obama’s massive regulations.

Netflix Condemns Net Neutrality Repeal in Official Statement:

“‘We’re disappointed in the decision to gut #NetNeutrality protections that ushered in an unprecedented era of innovation, creativity & civic engagement. This is the beginning of a longer legal battle.’”

Netflix is suing.  Because – of course:

“Netflix has always been a major player in this particular debate. Back in 2014, CEO Reed Hastings made a high-profile intervention in a company blog. He argued for strong regulations, and deliberately linked Net Neutrality to a connectivity dispute between the streaming service and Comcast. In July of that year, Netflix submitted filings to the F.C.C. to support Net Neutrality.”

Wait a second…”deliberately linked Net Neutrality to a connectivity dispute between the streaming service and Comcast.”

What, pray tell, was that “connectivity dispute?”

Slow Comcast Speeds Were Costing Netflix Customers:

“Netflix speeds became so slow in December 2013 and January 2014 that customers grew irate, Netflix said in its petition. Calls made to Netflix’s customer support center about slow-loading videos more than quadrupled during those months.

“‘For many subscribers, the bit rate was so poor that Netflix’s streaming video service became unusable,’ the company said. “Some of them canceled their Netflix subscription on the spot, citing the unacceptable quality of Netflix’s video streams and Netflix’s inability to do anything to change the situation.’”

Netflix alleged Comcast was slowing down its service – an alleged Net Neutrality violation.  And Netflix’s allegation – made a lot of news.

Netflix Agrees To Pay Comcast To End Slowdown

Comcast and Netflix Reach Deal on Service

Netflix Streaming Speeds on Comcast Jump 65 Percent after Controversial Deal

Comcast’s Netflix Deal Could Open a New Front in Net Neutrality War

Net Neutrality Died With the Comcast/Netflix Deal

One little problem with Netflix’s Net Neutrality story – it was a giant lie.

Comcast Vs. Netflix: Is This Really about Net Neutrality?:

“Netflix’s disputes with broadband providers, like Comcast, have zip to do with Net Neutrality. Here’s what you need to know about Net Neutrality, and the Internet, to understand why….

“(T)he dispute between Netflix and Comcast is not a Net Neutrality issue because it does not have to do with how Comcast is treating Netflix’s traffic once it’s on the Comcast broadband network. Instead, it stems from a business dispute the two companies have over how Netflix is connecting to Comcast’s network….

“(A)s anyone who has streamed video knows, the amount of bandwidth that is needed to stream or download video far outweighs the amount of bandwidth needed to request such a video. And the result is a massive imbalance of traffic going onto the broadband network, which likely requires a commercial interconnection arrangement between Netflix and the various broadband network providers….

“This is where the spat between Comcast and Netflix comes into the open. Netflix, which is likely hoping to pressure Comcast into offering better terms in its commercial business deal, has implied that this issue is somehow related to Net Neutrality….

“It’s like complaining that New York City traffic cops are responsible for and should prevent traffic backups on the New Jersey Turnpike. While New York police may control the flow of traffic once cars enter the city, they don’t have jurisdiction in New Jersey or anywhere else that the traffic originates.”

Get all that?  Netflix wanted to not pay to connect to Comcast’s networks – or for the massive data dumping in which they are engaging.

So Netflix lied.  And they lyingly tried to tie their lie – to the Net Neutrality debate.

Was Netflix only lying about Comcast?  Heavens no.

Netflix Has Been Secretly Slowing Down Your Videos for the Past Five Years:

“Netflix Inc. has long framed itself as the good guy in the fight against Internet service providers — Chief Executive Reed Hastings has described his company as ‘big believers in the free and open Internet.’

“But the Los Gatos, Calif., company’s stance on equal access apparently has its limits, namely among its own customers.

“For more than five years, Netflix has secretly slowed load times and reduced video resolution – a process called throttling – to AT&T Inc. and Verizon mobile customers to keep them from exceeding the caps on their data plans….”

Get all that?  Alleged Net Neutrality champion Netflix…is just another bottom-line-fixated company.

Actually – Netflix is worse than most.  They’re looking to avoid spending money they’re supposed to spend…by having government via Net Neutrality – force Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to spend theirs instead.

That’s government cronyism.  And who will ultimately pay for Netflix’s cronyism?  And Google’s?  And Amazon’s?  And Facebook’s?

You and I.  If our ISPs are forced to pick up the Netflix-Google-Amazon-Facebook crony bandwidth tab – our ISPs will have no choice…but to charge us more.

Get that?  We’ll all pay dramatically more for Internet service – to augment the profits of Netflix-Google-Amazon-Facebook.

That seems fair.

Oh: And in any of last week’s stories on the Netflix outage – which the media tried to tie to Net Neutrality – did they mention Netflix’s long and sordid history of lying about Net Neutrality and ISPs?

Heavens no.

Oh: And did Netflix’s outage last week have anything to do with Net Neutrality?

Netflix Says It Has Fixed the Problem that Caused a Major Outage

Heavens no.

How do we know Net Neutrality’s repeal had nothing to do with it?

Because after all the pre-solution stories implying Net Neutrality’s repeal was the cause – none of the post-solution stories…mention Net Neutrality at all.

That seems fair.

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