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Free Web service for over three million Egyptians shut down
Facebook’s aggressive Free Basics campaign backfired on Friday with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India asking respondents to its net neutrality consultation paper to comment on specific issues rather than following a template provided by Facebook.
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Any decision on differential pricing and zero rating made after the expiry of the deadline for submitting comments would impact Free Basics as well.
It is important to note that Facebook has launched a multi-media campaign to build the case in favour of its Free Basic – its revised version of the earlier internet.org initiative that was shelved amidst protest by the users.
The Free Basics initiative taken by Facebook has spread to 37 countries so far and is seen as an effort to help emerging economies connect with the rest of the world.
While the reason behind Egypt’s ban is still unclear, it more than likely has to do with the criticisms concerning Free Basics and net neutrality.
Free Basics, which Mr Zuckerberg, 31, says will bring free internet to millions of poor Indians through their cellphones, has been attacked by tech entrepreneurs and many others as created to violate the principles of net neutrality, the concept that all websites on the internet are treated equally.
And now Facebook has confirmed that in a statement to the Associated Press that Free Basics has also been suspended in Egypt.
In addition, at stake is the ambition of Facebook to expand in what is the largest market for the company outside the U.S.
Facebook, which launched in Egypt in October, said the program allowed 1 million people to go online for the first time.
The issue here is some sites are being offered to one person free of cost, while the other is paying for it. Such offerings are guiding behaviour of people.
“Now the problem for this is that we had asked for response to the specific question of differential pricing… instead we have got responses supporting Free Basics”. “We know that for India to make progress, more than 1 billion people need to be connected to the Internet”.
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg vehemently disagreed with these claims, saying that “If we accept that everyone deserves access to the internet, then we must surely support free basic internet services”.