ABN Amro workers' Netflix, Spotify use crippled bank's online services

ABN Amro banned the use streaming services Netflix, Spotify and Deezer on company laptops after binge-watching employees nearly crippled the bank's online services, Financieele Dagblad reports based on an internal memo from the bank's IT department.

The streaming service used so much of the bank's network capacity that customer services were compromised. According to the memo, a full 15 percent of the network capacity went to watching Netflix show House of Cards and streaming the new Kendrick Lamar album.

"These services use so much of our network that it puts it under pressure", the memo reads, according to FD. "We are sorry, but the corporate network is firstly intended for customers for business use. We have no choice but to change our policies."

A spokesperson for the bank told FD that this doesn't necessarily mean that ABN employees are watcing series at work. "Employees may use their business laptop for private purposes, and they do this in the evenings and on weekends. But those laptops can't run outside of the secured network. Because we also need our capacity in the evenings and at weekends, for example for internet banking and our consulting service center, we have to change our policies."