What Facebook won't tell you about FreeBasics

swatkats

Skilled
E2bQ5IE.png



WHAT FACEBOOK WON’T TELL YOU


  • 1 -
There are other successful models (this, this, this) for providing free Internet access to people, without giving a competitive advantage to Facebook. Free Basics is the worst of our options.

  • 2 -
Facebook doesn’t pay for Free Basics, telecom operators do. Where do they make money from? From users who pay. By encouraging people to choose Free Basics, Facebook reduces the propensity to bring down data costs for paid Internet access.

  • 3 -
Free Basics isn’t about bringing people online. It’s about keeping Facebook and its partners free, while everything else remains paid. Users who pay for Internet access can still access Free Basics for free, giving Facebook and its partners an advantage. Free Basics is a violation of Net Neutrality

  • 4 -
Internet access is growing rapidly in India. We’ve added 100 million users in 2015. Almost all the connections added in India the last 1 year are NOT because of Free Basics.

  • 5 -
Free Basics is not an open platform. Facebook defines the technical guidelines for Free Basics, and reserves the right to change them. They reserve the right to reject applicants, who are forced to comply with Facebook’s terms. In contrast they support ‘permissionless innovation’ in the US.

  • 6 -
The only source of info on Facebook’s Free Basics is Facebook, and it misleads people. Facebook was criticised in Brazil for misleading advertising. (source) Their communication in India is misleading. People find the “Free” part of Free Basics advertising from Facebook (or FreeNet free Internet) from Reliance misleading. (source)

  • 7 -
Facebook gets access to all the usage data and usage patterns of all the sites on Free Basics. No website which wants to compete with Facebook will partner with them.

because it will have to give them user data. Facebook gives data to the NSA (source) and this is a security issue for India.

  • 8 -
Research has shown that people prefer to use the open web for a shorter duration over a limited set of sites for a longer duration. (source)

  • 9 -
Facebook says that Free Basics doesn’t have ads, but does not say that it will never have ads on Free Basics.

  • 10 -
Facebook has shown people as saying that they support Free Basics when they haven’t. They may claim 3.2 million in support, but how many of those mails are legitimate?


How you can help


  • Click here to ask the TRAI to investigate Facebook’s submissions for authenticity.

  • Click here to send an email to TRAI in support of Net Neutrality

  • Click here to mail your MP to support Net Neutrality.

Microsoft having shares worth $240M in Facebook is opposing Free Basics or Internet.org: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...snubs-facebooks-plan/articleshow/50317628.cms

PayTM in Support of Net Neutrality: https://paytm.com/blog/time-to-go-all-out-save-the-net/





Hyderabad Doesn't give a F**K about Facebook which has already lost its popularity here:
VY7y33V.jpg


https://twitter.com/SwechaFSMI/media (More Protest Pics)


What TE Admins can do?? : Run Banners supporting Net Neutrality: https://t.co/SgqChWMkGv @Renegade @Crazy_Eddy
[DOUBLEPOST=1451154971][/DOUBLEPOST]https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comme...p_internetorg/

Fb's Internet.org VP took 45mins to answer first 4 AMA Questions. Ended up answering 10-11 Questions.. Goddamn it, AMA's are supposed to be quick and majority of them are to be answered!!
 
Last edited:
The TV ad really ****ing pisses me of.

I dont mind someone advertising their product but trying to play it off as some great charity really rubs me the wrong way. You arent ****ing wikipedia.

Sent the emails. Spread the word.
 
Would a complaint to the ASCI work against these misleading ads? If someone has a scan of those paper ads, they could complain.
 
There is a blog from Mark Zuckerberg and a counter blog from a netneutrality.in volunteer on TOI today

There are also several response from Mike Buckley. I posted quite a few comments to Mike Buckley responses and all of them appeared online, but were later removed.

Times group is part of Free Basics program.
 
Personally, as I said in previous debates on the subject, I have nothing against the concept of free internet (as long as it doesn't necessarily interfere with net neutrality), but Facebook should not have control of which services can be or cannot be part of the program. I questioned why Facebook cannot have the program sponsor a unrestricted internet package with a data limit like say 1 GB/month instead of a program that gives restricted access in an unlimited manner. That should be quite feasible, but they don't want to answer such questions or even let such questions out in the open.

To be honest, looking at the desperation with which Facebook is fighting this, the volumes of money they are willing to spend for PR and the govt lobbying they are doing, I am fearful that Facebook's interest in this is not to just kill any potential future competition or get some user data collected or even ads in the long run, I have this hunch that they have much bigger and sinister plans.
 
E2bQ5IE.png



WHAT FACEBOOK WON’T TELL YOU


  • 1 -
There are other successful models (this, this, this) for providing free Internet access to people, without giving a competitive advantage to Facebook. Free Basics is the worst of our options.

  • 2 -
Facebook doesn’t pay for Free Basics, telecom operators do. Where do they make money from? From users who pay. By encouraging people to choose Free Basics, Facebook reduces the propensity to bring down data costs for paid Internet access.

  • 3 -
Free Basics isn’t about bringing people online. It’s about keeping Facebook and its partners free, while everything else remains paid. Users who pay for Internet access can still access Free Basics for free, giving Facebook and its partners an advantage. Free Basics is a violation of Net Neutrality

  • 4 -
Internet access is growing rapidly in India. We’ve added 100 million users in 2015. Almost all the connections added in India the last 1 year are NOT because of Free Basics.

  • 5 -
Free Basics is not an open platform. Facebook defines the technical guidelines for Free Basics, and reserves the right to change them. They reserve the right to reject applicants, who are forced to comply with Facebook’s terms. In contrast they support ‘permissionless innovation’ in the US.

  • 6 -
The only source of info on Facebook’s Free Basics is Facebook, and it misleads people. Facebook was criticised in Brazil for misleading advertising. (source) Their communication in India is misleading. People find the “Free” part of Free Basics advertising from Facebook (or FreeNet free Internet) from Reliance misleading. (source)

  • 7 -
Facebook gets access to all the usage data and usage patterns of all the sites on Free Basics. No website which wants to compete with Facebook will partner with them.

because it will have to give them user data. Facebook gives data to the NSA (source) and this is a security issue for India.

  • 8 -
Research has shown that people prefer to use the open web for a shorter duration over a limited set of sites for a longer duration. (source)

  • 9 -
Facebook says that Free Basics doesn’t have ads, but does not say that it will never have ads on Free Basics.

  • 10 -
Facebook has shown people as saying that they support Free Basics when they haven’t. They may claim 3.2 million in support, but how many of those mails are legitimate?


How you can help


  • Click here to ask the TRAI to investigate Facebook’s submissions for authenticity.

  • Click here to send an email to TRAI in support of Net Neutrality

  • Click here to mail your MP to support Net Neutrality.

Microsoft having shares worth $240M in Facebook is opposing Free Basics or Internet.org: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...snubs-facebooks-plan/articleshow/50317628.cms

PayTM in Support of Net Neutrality: https://paytm.com/blog/time-to-go-all-out-save-the-net/





Hyderabad Doesn't give a F**K about Facebook which has already lost its popularity here:
VY7y33V.jpg


https://twitter.com/SwechaFSMI/media (More Protest Pics)


What TE Admins can do?? : Run Banners supporting Net Neutrality: https://t.co/SgqChWMkGv @Renegade @Crazy_Eddy
[DOUBLEPOST=1451154971][/DOUBLEPOST]https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comme...p_internetorg/

Fb's Internet.org VP took 45mins to answer first 4 AMA Questions. Ended up answering 10-11 Questions.. Goddamn it, AMA's are supposed to be quick and majority of them are to be answered!!

I have one quick fix to end all your plight. Get off the radar. Destroy your mobile phone, erase all your internet activities and totally go tech free. Maybe then you will have the privacy you want.
 
Man. Everyone's shit corrupt in TRAI & are playing on the lines of these Telecos. How can you expect a 3rd consultation paper asking for definition of net neutrality? They could've concluded in a paper or two.
.democracy. where the state and private parties have equal say in the functioning of the overall government!
 
I want free facebook and uber access, and I don't use internet much for anything else on mobile.
For techenclave I visit my office/use my PC/not use mobile internet.

I am in for freebasics.
 
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