Dustin Jethro

Dr. Cox
RHET NUMBERS
09 February 2016
Two Wrongs dont make a Right, or the Hypocrisy of Netflix by
Supporting T-Mobiles Binge-On Service
Net Neutrality is not a new issue. In 2003, Mr. Tim Wu proposed
net neutrality as the idea of putting restrictions on Internet Service
Providers that does not allow them to put in place anti-consumeristic
policies and effectively censor information from its users through
throttling. Historically, Netflix, Inc. have called themselves supporters
of net neutrality, and yet, here they have no problem with T-Mobiles
Binge-On service. T-Mobile does do some things that make the service
more cost effective for them, however those violate net neutrality as
well.
Recently, the United States mobile carrier T-Mobile released its
new Binge-On service, which removes the data limit on specific video
streaming services, and, for users of a certain tier, does not contribute
to any data costs provided by T-Mobile. This is violation number 1. By
removing the data limit, T-Mobile is forcing users who have exceeded
or are nearing the limits of data usage to receive information through

channels deemed only acceptable by the provider (van Schewik 3-7).

To make my point obvious, had T-Mobile limited access to news
sources, this would have been obvious censorship. Even now it can be
seen as T-Mobile filtering and censoring information, as no streaming
services covered by Binge-On allow users to upload their own content,
such as YouTube, DailyMotion, and Vimeo.
Secondly, at a certain tier of plan with T-Mobile, Binge-On is
provided free of charge. This sounds like a dream come true, to be able
to stream free video for the low, low cost of free. There is one catch,
however. When streaming video free of charge, T-Mobile limits the
quality of the video to 853.33 480px. This is yet another violation of
net neutrality, as T-Mobile is throttling the speed of the connection.
Though otherwise this service would not be provided for free, throttling
connections is another violation of net neutrality and should be treated
as such.
Even past violations of net neutrality, Netflix, Inc. has maintained
support of T-Mobiles new service. Even though the violations work
together so as to not be a gross violation of net neutrality, two wrongs
do not make a right, and Netflix should have kept their promises in
regards to net neutrality and should not have supported T-Mobile and
Binge-On at all.

Sources
"Top Sites." Alexa Top 500 Global Sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.
Van Schewick, Barbara. "T-Mobiles Binge On Violates Key Net
Neutrality Principles." T-

Mobiles BingeOn Violates Key Net

Neutrality Principles (2013): n. pag. 29 Jan. 2016. Web.

"Despite Battling for Net Neutrality, Netflix Sees No Problem with TMobile's Binge On."
2016.

The Verge. TheVerge, 19 Jan. 2016. Web. 09 Feb.