The European Commission has warned Europe's telecoms providers not to block content platforms in an attempt to prevent internet gridlock caused by house-bound Europeans teleworking or video streaming due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The telecoms industry, from world No. 2 mobile operator Vodafone to Deutsche Telekom, has in recent days reported a spike in data traffic on networks as thousands of people switched to home working or watched endless videos.Telecoms providers can take measures to prevent gridlock for as long as necessary but must not block, slow down or prioritise traffic, the EU executive said, citing the bloc's net neutrality rules.
Netflix had over 42 million subscribers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East at the end of the first quarter of 2019, according to a filing, with the bulk estimated to be in Europe.