India's telecoms regulator has blocked Facebook's Free Basics internet service after the country's national telecoms regulator ruled that the program and others like it violate the principles of net neutrality. The ruling was not directly aimed at Free Basics, but the general practice of zero-rated internet services, that let users access certain apps and websites without consuming their mobile data.
"No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content," ruled the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The decision from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) comes after a long battle between Facebook and the country's net neutrality advocates. Free Basics was blocked temporarily in India last December while the TRAI considered its case, but other services — like Airtel Zero — had previously been the subject of protests. But although Facebook's attempt to offer subsidized content wasn't the only such program in India, it was particularly visible.
After its temporary ban, the company started a campaign to try and win public support, reportedly spending nearly $45 million promoting Free Basics with billboards and newspaper advertisements. While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defending the program as free basic internet access to all, the critics of Free Basics and zero-rating in general argued that the practice creates an unfair marketplace. By subsidizing content, companies like Facebook get to pick and choose winners, creating incentives for customers to use certain services because they don't eat into their data. This in turn makes it harder for smaller players to compete and quashes innovation.
Even according to netizen in India, the Free Basics of Facebook doesn’t include web services which considered to be basic in India like government websites agriculture information etc. The people who live in cities and are aggressive users of the internet said: 'You can't dictate the terms, give free internet to villagers and then tell them how to use it'.
The World Wide Web Foundation, founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web, welcomed the regulator's decision.
Program manager Renata Avila said, "The message is clear: We can't create a two-tier Internet - one for the haves, and one for the have-not."
"We must connect everyone to the full potential of the open Web; We call on companies and the government of India to work with citizens and civil society to explore new approaches to connect everyone as active users, whether through free data allowances, public access schemes or other innovative approaches.", he added further.
For More Information Read- "Should I support Facebook's Free Basics in India?"
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