TikTok will suspend HD streaming for 30 days to relieve the pressure on the networks in Europe.
The Chinese video service TikTok will stop HD streaming to reduce the amount of data it generates in Europe in order to relieve the Internet infrastructures. Accordingly, the content can no longer be played in HD quality. TikTok announced this in a message on Monday. The measure should initially apply for 30 days. The restriction will take effect immediately.
Users can continue to create and share videos as usual, the announcement says. TikTok wants to help limit video resolution by “reducing the pressure on the infrastructure that is so important to people’s daily lives”.
Other streaming services’ limitations
Previously, Netflix, YouTube and Apple reduced the video streaming quality of their services. Netflix and YouTube also initially targeted a 30-day window for this measure. Amazon has also started to reduce the data rate of its streaming service in Europe. The streaming service Disney+ will start offering a reduced resolution in the European countries.
The EU Commission called on video streaming services last week to reduce their data throughput in order to relieve the networks in Europe. This is to ensure that the network capacities are not overused in times of restrictions due to the coronavirus crisis and so, among other things, a better internet experience for everyone is possible.
TikTok also launched a Covid-19 page.
