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| Image Source: netflix.com |
Squid Game is breaking records and on the verge of becoming one of the biggest Netflix shows ever in such a way, it's threatened with legal action due to the show's traffic on the internet.
Squid Game is a South Korean survival drama that follows 456 participants who participate in an array of games for children with life-threatening outcomes, all in the hope of winning the $38.7 million cash prize. The show was released on the 17th of September in all countries immediately and soon became one of the most popular shows within the first week.
One reason the series' nine episodes are loved is due to its dark, satirical social commentary which takes on South Koreans frustrations with the growing income gap in Asia's most prosperous country.
Squid Game depicts hundreds of marginalized communities from South Korea, including a North Korean defector and a father with a debt problem, who are literally competing for their lives or the death of.
In addition to a huge cash prize, the loser's contestants die in the course of the competition while the nation's elite observes the action. Squid Games themes have grown so popular that it has led South Korean politicians to weaponize the game in order to take on their rivals in the presidential election in March.
The popularity of the show is also being used to achieve not just to gain political gains.
Reuters says that Netflix is facing legal action over the increased traffic to the internet from Squid Game. South Korean-based internet service provider, SK Broadband, issuing the streaming service to compensate for the costs of the increase in network traffic as well as maintenance due to the rise in viewers thanks to Squid Game and other popular Netflix shows.
SK Broadband must now process 1.2 trillion bits of data every second to manage Netflix's demands. The internet service provider estimates that Netflix's use of its network was approximately $22.9 million in 2020.
The legal decision is a result of a Seoul court ruled that Netflix ought to be able to provide an amount of money for internet services to pay for use of its network. Furthermore, numerous South Korean lawmakers have been open about the fact that content providers "do not pay for network usage, despite the fact that they generate a lot of traffic.
Netflix is South Korea's second-largest data traffic maker, behind YouTube which SK Broadband says both streaming platforms are the only two platforms that don't have to pay for the network usage fee. Netflix claims it is reviewing the claim of SK Broadband and working with the company "to make sure that users aren't affected.
Based on the court's ruling and SK Broadband's argument that it is a matter of fact, Netflix must be able to pay its fair share of charges for network usage. This is especially so given how Netflix has paid an amount within the United States for faster streaming service to broadband provider Comcast Corp for the last seven years.
Although the popularity in Squid Game isn't the sole motive behind the lawsuit it appears to be the straw that cut the camel's back. In the end, if Netflix requires help to raise the funds the company can always participate with a number of kids' games.
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