Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has asked Reliance Communications to stop the Free Basics service of Facebook, at least for some time.
Reliance Communications is Facebook's sole telecom partner in India to offer a set of basic internet services free to its subscribers. The service is called Free Basics.Earlier known as internet.org, Free Basics has been criticised by several experts as being against the spirit of net neutrality .
Trai is yet to form a view whether Free Basics conforms to net neutrality .
Net neutrality means internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites.
However, Reliance Communications is still to pull the Free Basics platform off its services. The Free Basics platform is available to subscribers of the telecom company when they log into the website, leaving a question mark over the compliance to the regulator's order.
Sources said that Reliance had received a communication from Trai around two weeks back over the issue.
Facebook has also been campaigning for the Free Basics platform very aggressively , especially as Trai has sought comments for working out recommendations on the differential pricing option. However, there is a stiff resistance building up against its campaigns as activists urge subscribers to oppose the measure while giving comments on Trai's consultation paper.
The Free Basics platform, which has been in place since last year, had been initiated by FB ostensibly as a philanthropic activity as the social media giant wanted to provide free basic internet connectivity to the unconnected across Asia, Africa and Latin America. FB has partnered more than a dozen mobile operators across 19 countries to provide the free platform. However, it has been criticized severely over the measure as net neutrality activists from various parts of the world said that the platform is “threatening freedom of expression“ and presented a “walled garden“ for first time users. They also argue that the platform will stifle the start-up culture and curb innovation.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has time and again defended the platform, saying that it aims to connect those who have not been able to get access to the internet.But faced with a barrage of criticism, the company in September this year decided to re-christen internet.org as Free Basics while allowing any application or developer on the platform, provided it “meets basic technical requirement“. This clause has also been criticized by activists who opposed the “conditional entry“ into Facebook platform against the “culture of freedom“ on the wider internet.
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