EU warns telcos against throttling Internet giants as data traffic spikes

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. — Reuters

BRUSSELS: 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.