TikTok has taken off recently with it now being hugely popular with so many of our youth. Although it is basically just short mobile videos it, like other streaming services, still uses a large amount of bandwidth when being viewed in HD. As such, to relieve the pressure on the networks in Europe TikTok are suspending HD streaming for the next 30 days.
In a statement on their website they have said that they do not wish to add more pressure to a network infrastructure already under pressure and as such have made a voluntary decision to prevent users in Europe from watching HD content for the next 30 days.
We do not want any increased level of usage to add further pressure on overall network infrastructure and capacity. With this in mind, we have made a voluntary decision to prevent our users in Europe from being able to watch content in high definition for the next 30 days.
There is no change to users being able to create and share videos as per normal and have assured users that this decision will “not have any material impact on the quality of their TikTok experience”. The decision does allow them to play their role in helping to reduce pressure on infrastructure.
At this stage the decision is to only have the suspension for 30 days starting immediately but they have not ruled out extended it further should the need arise. They will work with network operators regarding any decisions in the future.
It is unclear whether they will extend this decision to Australia or not but you would hope so. As has been witnessed by so many people before this pandemic, our NBN infrastructure is a long long way from what it should be considering the funds that have been spent on it and as such a diminished quality of streaming will certainly be appropriate here in Australia should our shutdowns and lockdowns continue to tighten.
