--- ---  * [Business](/section/business/) * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) # Netflix CEO Takes Swing at Comcast Xfinity over Net Neutrality by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Apr 16, 2012 1:00 PM CUT  Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gestures while speaking at the Facebook f8 Developers Conference in San Francisco September 22, 2011\. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gestures while speaking at the Facebook f8 Developers Conference in San Francisco September 22, 2011\. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY)REUTERS by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Apr 16, 2012 1:00 PM CUT If you own the highway as well as several of the vehicles that use it, is it fair to tax everyone _except_ your drivers? That’s essentially what Comcast did when it decided to exempt its TV-based Xfinity “On Demand” service for the Xbox 360 from counting against periodic data caps, effectively _un_\-leveling the playing field. Comcast’s defense: The service is delivered over its private IP network, not the public Internet. more Should that exempt Comcast? Absolutely not, according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. “Comcast no longer following net neutrality principles,” [writes Hastings](https://www.facebook.com/reed1960/posts/10150706947044584 "undefined") on his Facebook page. “Comcast should apply caps equally, or not at all.” (**MORE:** [A Netflix Cable Channel? Right for Netflix, Possibly Right for Us](http://techland.time.com/2012/03/08/a-netflix-cable-channel-right-for-netflix-possibly-right-for-us/ "undefined")) Comcast’s private IP network still intersects with the Internet where streaming rivals like Netflix or Hulu are concerned. At some point, any streaming service must, by definition, traverse an ISP’s private IP network to get to consumers. Hastings says he spent the weekend “enjoying four good internet video apps on my Xbox: Netflix, HBO GO, Xfinity, and Hulu.” But he complains that while Netflix, HBO Go and Hulu count against his Comcast Internet data cap, Comcast’s Xfinity app doesn’t. Hastings continues: --- > “” --- A simple enough question with an even simpler answer: It’s not. The question of whether it violates _actual_ net neutrality rules as well as Comcast customers who’ll probably defend the ISP because they’re getting something for nothing notwithstanding, it’s the principle that matters here. You either make the playing field as level as possible, or establish a precedent whereby a highway’s proprietors, with their own vested traffic interests, control who pays at the toll booth and who doesn’t. **MORE:** [TiVo Gets Comcast’s Xfinity on Demand](http://techland.time.com/2012/04/09/tivo-gets-comasts-xfinity-on-demand/ "undefined") Netflix CEO Takes Swing at Comcast Xfinity over Net Neutrality ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7235899/netflix-ceo-takes-swing-at-comcast-xfinity-over-net-neutrality/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7235899/netflix-ceo-takes-swing-at-comcast-xfinity-over-net-neutrality/"},"headline":"Netflix CEO Takes Swing at Comcast Xfinity over Net Neutrality","datePublished":"2012-04-16T13:00:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:49:25.569Z","description":"If you own the highway as well as several of the vehicles that use it, is it fair to tax everyone except your drivers? That's...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7235899/netflix-ceo-takes-swing-at-comcast-xfinity-over-net-neutrality/","keywords":["Tech","Comcast"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dadc7d676eb7d25/6998bc4ff1b082329c6f031a/reed-hastings-netflix-ceo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dadc7d676eb7d25/6998bc4ff1b082329c6f031a/reed-hastings-netflix-ceo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gestures while speaking at the Facebook f8 Developers Conference in San Francisco","caption":"Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gestures while speaking at the Facebook f8 Developers Conference in San Francisco","creditText":"REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7235899/netflix-ceo-takes-swing-at-comcast-xfinity-over-net-neutrality/","name":"Netflix CEO Takes Swing at Comcast Xfinity over Net Neutrality"}}]}] ```