A day after causing public outrage with his “anti-colonialist” remark about India, Facebook board member Marc Andreessen on Thursday apologised saying it was “ill-informed and ill-advised” comment about Indian politics and economics.
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Facebook founder and head Mark Zuckerberg distanced himself from the comments saying the remarks were “deeply upsetting” and did not represent the company’s thinking.
“Anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades”.
San Francisco:Star Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen apologized Wednesday for a tweet contending that anti-colonialism has been an economic disaster for India.
In a decision on Monday regulators in India said that because Free Basics only allows access to selected websites albeit free it violates the principle that the entire Internet should be available to everyone on equal terms.
After Andreessen’s apology, Zuckerberg took to his personal Facebook page, which has nearly 50 million followers, to show his disagreement with the venture capitalist’s remarks. But to shape the future we need to understand the past.
Zuckerberg said his company “stands for helping to connect people” and he has gained a deeper appreciation for India as his company’s community has grown in the country. “I’ve been inspired by how much progress India has made in building a strong nation and the largest democracy in the world, and I look forward to strengthening my connection to the country”, he added.
Marc Andreessen, who has a fiery personality, said on Twitter that the decision is “morally wrong” since it denies partial Internet connectivity to poor people. ” However, Facebook soon encountered fierce opposition to the service from startup founders who expressed fears that they would be put at a competitive disadvantage, and internet activists who decried it as an attempt to undermine net neutrality – which calls for internet service providers to treat all content the same, regardless of the source. Why stop now?” The post sparked an outcry in the country after which Mr. Andreessen had to delete the tweet.
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A recent media report suggests that Facebook is planning to pull the plug on Free Basics in India following the TRAI ruling. “I will leave all future commentary on all of these topics to people with more knowledge and experience than me”. Later, he responded to a tweet that clearly indicated that he was in favor of colonialism in India.
