Surprisingly facebook is trying too hard to portray free basics as internet. Full page ads in leading newspapers and editorials (more like advertorials) to let people believe that free basics is a charity that facebook want to do to help poor Indians. If instead of spending crores in those ads, facbook would have given free data poor people, it would have helped them get internet access but that's not their real agenda.
I have put my comment in bold inline with Mark's advertorial in Times of India. I also used some of the arguments given in various newspaper editorials.
From
"Free Basics protects net neutrality" by Mark Zuckerberg
To connect a billion people, India must choose facts over fiction
In every society, there are certain basic services that are so important for people’s wellbeing that we expect everyone to be able to access them freely.
We have collections of free basic books. They’re called libraries. They don’t contain every book, but they still provide a world of good.
We have free basic healthcare. Public hospitals don’t offer every treatment, but they still save lives.
We have free basic education. Every child deserves to go to school.
ME: Internet cannot provide health without doctors, education without teachers.
Khan Academy , CrashCourse and thousands of youtube instructors and teachers are doing great job of providing free education . That would not have been possible without a neutral ISP (Internet Service Provider). Net Neutrality is essential for keeping the internet as it is, promoting freedom, encouraging innovation and generating value.
And in the 21st century, everyone also deserves access to the tools and information that can help them to achieve all those other public services, and all their fundamental social and economic rights.
That’s why everyone also deserves access to free basic internet services.
ME: Yes, free basic “Internet” and not “free basics”. Mark is again using terms “internet” and “free basics” interchangeably as he was using internet.org for internet.
We know that when people have access to the internet they also get access to jobs, education, healthcare, communication. We know that for every 10 people connected to the internet, roughly one is lifted out of poverty. We know that for India to make progress, more than 1 billion people need to be connected to the internet.
That’s not theory. That’s fact.
Another fact – when people have access to free basic internet services, these quickly overcome the digital divide.
Research shows that the biggest barriers to connecting people are affordability and awareness of the internet. Many people can’t afford to start using the internet. But even if they could, they don’t necessarily know how it can change their lives.
Over the last year Facebook has worked with mobile operators, app developers and civil society to overcome these barriers in India and more than 30 other countries. We launched Free Basics, a set of basic internet services for things like education, healthcare, jobs and communication that people can use without paying for data.
ME:Yes, issue is affordability and awareness, and that’s exactly why everyone deserves access to whole of internet. (it’s because of you I have to say “whole of internet” , Internet ceases to be itself as soon as it’s not whole but a part of it. Internet is internet, you can’t take out a part from it and still call it internet. How can one person decide what is “basic” internet??
More than 35 operators have launched Free Basics and 15 million people have come online. And half the people who use Free Basics to go online for the first time pay to access the full internet within 30 days.
ME:This does not make sense. If they are ready to pay for internet then why they came on freebasics? Most likely they have started with free basics because they had no internet access as no ISP was there. If they had a choice why won’t they use internet.
So the data is clear. Free Basics is a bridge to the full internet and digital equality. Data from more than five years of other programs that offer free access to Facebook, WhatsApp and other services shows the same.
If we accept that everyone deserves access to the internet, then we must surely support free basic internet services. That’s why more than 30 countries have recognized Free Basics as a program consistent with net neutrality and good for consumers.
ME:Well, It’s clear that you want people to get internet, and apparently you don’t have any commercial interest, then why don’t you just give them the real internet instead of FreeBasics of internet.org?
Who could possibly be against this?
Surprisingly, over the last year there’s been a big debate about this in India.
Instead of wanting to give people access to some basic internet services for free, critics of the program continue to spread false claims – even if that means leaving behind a billion people.
ME: Wow, what an emotional call! How suddenly so much love for those billion people? This is from a company which, in spite of having 125 million Indian subscribers, refuses to be sued in India, claiming to be an American company and therefore outside the purview of Indian law. Nor does it pay any tax in India. And what is basic internet again?
Instead of recognizing the fact that Free Basics is opening up the whole internet, they continue to claim – falsely – that this will make the internet more like a walled garden.
Instead of welcoming Free Basics as an open platform that will partner with any telco, and allows any developer to offer services to people for free, they claim – falsely – that this will give people less choice.
Instead of recognizing that Free Basics fully respects net neutrality, they claim – falsely – the exact opposite.
A few months ago I learned about a farmer in Maharashtra called Ganesh.
Last year Ganesh started using Free Basics. He found weather information to prepare for monsoon season. He looked up commodity prices to get better deals. Now Ganesh is investing in new crops and livestock.
ME:And who provided commodity prices, weather information etc?? It’s the government. And how he was supposed to access it? Through Internet. A lot of info is on internet, not on freebasics? If you would have given him internet, he would have done even better. Why the facebook is coming between the information and the user? you are first yourself creating a gap and then claiming to make a bridge to fill that gap.
Critics of free basic internet services should remember that everything we’re doing is about serving people like Ganesh. This isn’t about Facebook’s commercial interests – there aren’t even any ads in the version of Facebook in Free Basics. If people lose access to free basic services they will simply lose access to the opportunities offered by the internet today.
Right now the TRAI is inviting the public to help decide whether free basic internet services should be offered in India.
For those who care about India’s future, it’s worth answering some questions to determine what is best for the unconnected in India.
ME: Why private companies are so much concerned about public services. Can you really do that? You can help the government to do that by paying taxes properly. As Evgeny Morozov said, “This is the Internet monopolies’ agenda of hidden and mass-scale privatisation of public services”. Instead of people demanding that the state provide access to various services — from drinking water to transport and communications — people are being led to believe that a few capitalists from Silicon Valley will provide all these services. We will have Internet connectivity instead of education, and Uber will provide private taxis, instead of public transport. To paraphrase Marie Antoinette, let the people have cake instead of bread.
What reason is there for denying people free access to vital services for communication, education, healthcare, employment, farming and women’s rights?
How does Ganesh being able to better tend his crops hurt the internet?
ME: Really, this is all you want but still want to limit access to internet?
It’s not Ganesh, my friend, it’s you who is hurting internet.
We’ve heard legitimate concerns in the past, and we’ve quickly addressed those. We’re open to other approaches and encourage innovation. But today this program is creating huge benefits for people and the entire internet ecosystem. There’s no valid basis for denying people the choice to use Free Basics, and that’s what thousands of people across India have chosen to tell TRAI over the last few weeks.
ME:People didn’t choose that, you misled them! You never told that clicking a button would send a mail to TRAI. You never explained how FreeBasics is not in violation of net neutrality.
Choose facts over false claims. Everyone deserves access to the internet. Free basic internet services can help achieve this. Free Basics should stay to help achieve digital equality for India.
ME: Digital equality will come for lower data prices. The main barrier to Internet connectivity is the high cost of data services in the country. If we use purchasing power parity as a basis, India has expensive data services compared to most countries. So instead of giving people select websites, give them free data. There are various models of doing this.
Why are you so keen to monopolise access to internet, oh, let me correct myself, you are not providing access to internet, you are breaking it up and selling parts of internet. Are you still not clear that the very reason facebook exists is that there is a free internet.
Everyone, please take a informed decision. Raise your voice to save the internet. for more , please read newspaper editorials on net neutrality and visit the website http://www.savetheinternet.in/
some links:
