Netflix Is No Longer the Poster Child for Net Neutrality. Who’s Next?

When Washington became enmeshed in a yearlong debate over internet regulation in early 2014, Netflix emerged as one of the biggest champions of network neutrality. When Netflix wrote its letter in 2014, it had about 33 million subscribers in the US. It also wasn’t yet the cultural force it is today. The company has since increased American subscribers by nearly 50 percent while revenue there doubled. This gives it considerable leverage in negotiations with internet providers like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon.

Smaller tech companies still discuss the issue in more urgent terms. When Snap filed to go public in 2017, it warned that weaker rules could allow mobile internet providers to undermine its service in various ways. “Were that to happen, our business would be seriously harmed,” Snap wrote in a securities filing.