News Streaming Facebook is the Latest to Throttle Video Streaming in Europe It joins Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV+, and Disney+ by Senior News Editor Rob LeFebvre has been a freelance technology writer for 10 years and an educator for 20. His articles have appeared in 148Apps, Cult of Mac, Engadget, and many others. our editorial process Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Rob LeFebvre Published March 23, 2020 03:25PM EDT Tweet Share Email Streaming Phones Internet & Security Computers Smart & Connected Life Home Theater Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming View More Why This Matters Limiting bandwidth for streaming video will help the network from buckling under the strain of so many home users accessing videos while they shelter in place. golero / Getty Images As reported by the BBC, Facebook joins a list of streaming video providers like Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV+, and Disney+ in curtailing the vast amounts of data required by high definition, high bitrate video content. What this will affect: While this throttling of video content is only in Europe for now, it will likely make sense here in the U.S. sooner, rather than later. Keeping our networks healthy is increasingly important for our financial, mental, and social health. How does this work? While the data used will be less, it's entirely possible users won't see much difference in the quality of the videos they stream. Some services, like YouTube, will switch users to lower-definition resolution (they can always switch back if they want), but most, like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Netflix, will only lower the bitrates, while keeping resolutions as is. Netflix says that European customers will use 25 percent less data this way. When: Facebook's changes should roll out over the next few days, says the BBC, and will apply to Instagram video as well. Become an Expert on Video Streaming What Is Streaming and When Do You Use It? How Fast Should My Internet Be for Netflix and Other Similar Services? Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit