Netflix joins ‘Slowdown’ net neutrality protest
September 9, 2014
Netflix confirmed it will join today’s (September 10) ‘Internet Slowdown’ event to raise awareness about net neutrality.
A number of top Internet service sites – from Kickstarter and Etsy to Reddit and WordPress – will add widgets to their sites that display the dreaded ‘loading’ wheel one might see when trying to watch a video over a slow connection.
Unlike the 2012 Internet blackout day in protest of SOPA and PIPA laws, the ‘Slowdown’ event won’t actually slow service on these companies’ websites. Instead, it will serve as “a call to action for users to push comments to the FCC, Congress, and the White House.”
Netflix, a vocal backer of net neutrality, is the latest to pledge its support for the event, sponsored by consumer groups Free Press, Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, and Engine.