Netflix too big to squawk over rollback of Web protections

New York

WHEN Washington became enmeshed in a year-long debate over Internet regulation in early 2014, Netflix Inc emerged as one of the biggest champions of net neutrality. In a letter to shareholders at the time, the company warned of a scenario where Internet providers would begin degrading the quality of Netflix video unless the company paid them.

Netflix said that such a move would be "draconian" and would harm consumers. It advocated for strong rules prohibiting such moves. When former president Barack Obama's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed its regulations the following year, it gave Netflix and its political allies nearly everything they'd hoped for.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump's FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, reopened the debate on Internet regulation. Mr Pai dismissed scenarios along the lines of the ones that Netflix had laid out as both hypothe…