Government mandated free streaming won't help fight Covid and hurt telemedicine

See Angus King’s Gambit: Maine’s Senator wants free entertainment streaming for all. A WSJ editorial.

"Democrats have pushed to expand government entitlements and business mandates during the pandemic. Now Maine Sen. Angus King wants Netflix and other streaming services to provide complimentary entertainment to help Americans social distance over the holidays.

“At this time, we must find ways to incentivize people to follow guidance from the CDC, their employer, local public health officials, or school leaders,” Mr. King wrote in a letter this week to Netflix, Amazon, Disney and WarnerMedia. Americans left to their own devices will “carry on their typical holiday traditions instead of remaining safely at home.”

To encourage Americans to “make responsible choices”—i.e., abstain from merriment with family and friends—Mr. King is asking the platforms to “provide temporary service at no cost to non-subscribers.” He added: “I look forward to hearing what steps you see feasible and able to be accomplished to limit the health emergency that COVID-19 is posing at this difficult time.”

Who knew Netflix could slow Covid? The pandemic has been a boon for online streaming services, which have added tens of millions of new users during the pandemic. Disney+ now boasts 74 million, up from 50 million in April. There’s no evidence, however, the streaming surge has stopped the virus from spreading.

In any case, many young people already free-ride on subscriptions of family and friends. Increased streaming of “The Queen’s Gambit” or “Seinfeld” reruns would increase broadband traffic and slow speeds for other uses including telemedicine visits and FaceTiming with grandparents. There’s no such thing as free Netflix.

Speaking of which—Democrats want the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify broadband providers as common carriers so they could be forced to provide free “public services,” which is how Mr. King labels entertainment. Senate Republicans last week checked these liberal ambitions by confirming GOP Commissioner Nathan Simington.

A 2-2 deadlocked commission should keep Democrats from doing damage to the internet during the pandemic when people need it to work and learn safely at home."