‘Net neutrality is not in conflict’: Zuckerberg.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Mark Zuckerberg has leaped to the defense of Facebook’s Internet.org partnership after several companies decided to withdraw from the venture, citing concerns over net neutrality.
According to USA Today, a number of companies including travel service Cleartrip.com and media giant Times Group — owner of The Times of India newspaper — pulled out of the Internet.org project. They expressed concern telecom companies would get to choose which apps and services users can access and how quickly.
In a post on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg argued Internet.org’s free services are not detrimental to maintaining net neutrality.
“Net neutrality is not in conflict with working to get more people connected … universal connectivity and net neutrality can and must co-exist,” he wrote.
Zuckerberg is adamant Internet.org does not “block or throttle any other services or create fast lanes — and it never will.”
However, critics were quick with their rebuttals. Writing in the Hindustan Times, India’s Save The Internet coalition maintained that Internet.org is “Zuckerberg’s ambitious project to confuse hundreds of millions of emerging market users into thinking that Facebook and the internet are one and the same.”
The issue has galvanized the Indian public — BBC reported more than 800,000 people have sent emails to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India demanding a free and fair internet.
At the heart of the debate is Internet.org’s policy of “zero-rating,” in which telecoms providers agree not to pass on the costs of handling the data traffic so that consumers can receive services for free.
Critics argue this has a distorting effect on competition, making it difficult for publishers not signed up to Internet.org to reach the hundreds of millions of poorer people in developing economies who have no internet access at all.
In response, Facebook has emphasized the fact that joining Internet.org is free for web publishers and app providers.
Zuckerberg believes that “if someone can’t afford to pay for connectivity, it is always better to have some access than none at all.”
Internet.org has deployed its free services over the Reliance network in the Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Telangana regions within India. It has also launched in Indonesia via the Indosat network.