Netflix CEO blasts Comcast over call for strong net neutrality

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has reportedly blasted his company's new business partner Comcast and other Internet service providers for their take on net neutrality.

Hastings said that without strong net neutrality, big ISPs could demand potentially escalating fees for the interconnection required to deliver high-quality service.

This comes a month after Netflix opted to pay up for better direct access to Comcast's network.

According to TechHive, Hastings's comments are the first time his company has tackled net neutrality since an appeals court struck down the FCC's net neutrality rules back in January.

Net neutrality advocates fear that without strong rules, ISPs will be able to charge for premium access to their networks, speeding up services for companies willing to pay for the privilege.

Hastings has called out Comcast as a backer of the kind of 'weak' net neutrality that isn't enough to protect an open, competitive Internet.

He further wrote in his blog that to ensure the Internet remains humanity's most important platform for progress, net neutrality must be defended and strengthened.

Meanwhile, StreamingMediaBlog pointed out that Netflix didn't detail any net neutrality rules of its own and argued that Hastings and Netflix's partners were speaking in high-level terms without really digging into what strong net neutrality rules should look like, the report added.