First was Netflix and Youtube, now it’s Facebook and Instagram. Following the two video streaming services’ decision, the social media networks have also decided to cut their video quality. As with the two services, this only applies to the EU.
A Facebook representative sent a statement to Engadget, which is reproduced in full below:
To help alleviate any potential network congestion, we will temporarily reduce bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram in Europe. We are committed to working with our partners to manage any bandwidth constraints during this period of heavy demand, while also ensuring people are able to remain connected using Facebook apps and services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s natural that Facebook will come to this decision, really. With streaming quality on YouTube and Netflix having a hard cap, users will naturally flock to other services without one. Nevermind that the social media networks already have a massive user base. It also doesn’t help that there’s a pandemic going around. As a result, users will also be more likely to be at home, bored and active on social media.
It’s also especially important for both Facebook and Instagram to limit the network strain on their services. Users also use them for communication with others, so it’s obviously a good idea to not overload the network with just video streaming.
(Source: Engadget)
