Facebook has provided a passionate defense of its controversial Free Basics program and its approach of "zero rating."
In the 19-page response [PDF] to a public consultation on the practice of "differential pricing for data usage" run by India's telco regulator TRAI, the social media giant argues that programs like Free Basics have "a track record of increasing internet access and use," and "should be recognized as tools for economic development, and encouraged."
Facebook insists that the arguments against zero-rating are "unaccompanied by hard evidence, and cannot even minimally bear that burden of proof." Instead, it says, the practice of providing free access to some content has real benefits that are "supported by concrete evidence in India and throughout the world."
In addition, it argues that there are literally no downsides to the approach, and that economists that have studied it "have shown that zero rating spurs Internet adoption without any market-distorting effects." Full story...
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In the 19-page response [PDF] to a public consultation on the practice of "differential pricing for data usage" run by India's telco regulator TRAI, the social media giant argues that programs like Free Basics have "a track record of increasing internet access and use," and "should be recognized as tools for economic development, and encouraged."
Facebook insists that the arguments against zero-rating are "unaccompanied by hard evidence, and cannot even minimally bear that burden of proof." Instead, it says, the practice of providing free access to some content has real benefits that are "supported by concrete evidence in India and throughout the world."
In addition, it argues that there are literally no downsides to the approach, and that economists that have studied it "have shown that zero rating spurs Internet adoption without any market-distorting effects." Full story...
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- India’s fight for net neutrality...
- A demand for net neutrality roils India, campaign reaches crescendo...
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