Netflix throttling shows net neutrality on life support

[Commentary] Netflix, with its admission that it throttles video download speeds for Verizon and AT&T subscribers, has handed those same US telecommunication giants a potent weapon in their legal fight against Network Neutrality. Whether the decision helps or hurts Netflix in the market for online media ultimately will depend on how much value mobile-video consumers place on the quality of their content in relation to its download speed. Investors seem to like what they've heard so far: Netflix shares have risen nearly 6% since March 24, the day it admitted to throttling, vs. 1.5% for the Nasdaq Composite.

Netflix has been an innovator in giving online viewers new ways to get their digital entertainment. With "Orange is the New Black" and "House of Cards," it's also shown that a tech company can produce original hit series. Yet its latest moves also give legal cover to the largest Internet providers who argue it is the marketplace, not the Federal Communications Commission, that should determine the value of broadband service. If Netflix' new 'self-throttling' options find a market, the company may help prove that Net Neutrality, something it has long backed in principle, is a dying concept in the US.