Backlash Against Facebook’s Free Internet Service Grows

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Apparently not everyone is happy with Facebook’s free internet service. I guess if you are worried about your "freedom of expression, equality of opportunity, security and privacy," you don't have to use the free service. Problem solved. ;)

On Monday, 65 advocacy organizations in 31 countries released an open letter to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg protesting Internet.org—an effort to bring free internet service to the developing world—saying the project “violates the principles of net neutrality, threatening freedom of expression, equality of opportunity, security, privacy, and innovation.”
 
Well. It does violate net neutrality principles. What next? add 5$ for popular news sites?
 
Call me silly

Facebook is partnering with various wireless carriers and other organizations to provide an app that offers free access to certain internet services, including Facebook, on mobile phones in developing countries.
So if you can use an app on an cell phone to access the internet, don't you already have access to the internet through your wireless carrier?
 
Can you say data mining? SO basically its a first foot in the door to the rest of the planet that can't afford to have the Internet and basically mine their data relentlessly for free?

Yea its pretty easy to see why this could be an issue.
 
Call me silly


So if you can use an app on an cell phone to access the internet, don't you already have access to the internet through your wireless carrier?

We actually have this implemented (Philippines). Our system is primarily based on prepaid, like say buy 300php credits and then you spend that each time you use your phone.

When you try to enable data on your phone, your phone will technically connect but you get re-directed to the carriers landing page. There you have options to buy credits (e.x. 50php=1 day internet, 5php=15 minute internet, 10php=30 minute internet, 99php=1 month 100MB, etc.).

You technically have internet, you just get blocked. The facebook app is made an exception and allowed to bypass the landing page without requiring you to use credits. However, your connection is severely throttled, you just have enough bandwidth to read facebook posts and nothing more.

Would be nice if they atleast allow us to access gmail for free, those don't use much bandwidth at all :(

If, while accessing facebook, you buy a 50php package for 1 day internet, you have to go to the setup screen disable data, then re-enabled it to get the phone to reconnect through the high bandwidth line.
 
To give you a better idea on the implication (and what's already being done on other carriers here tho i'm not familiar with the exact conditions). You can have a certain TV station make a deal with the cell carrier and offer free video streaming.

Imagine how popular Fox News would be if they got a deal with your carrier to allow you to watch their archives on your mobile without needing a data plan. Oh hell, what if Rush Limbaugh got on it!
 
To give you a better idea on the implication (and what's already being done on other carriers here tho i'm not familiar with the exact conditions). You can have a certain TV station make a deal with the cell carrier and offer free video streaming.

Imagine how popular Fox News would be if they got a deal with your carrier to allow you to watch their archives on your mobile without needing a data plan. Oh hell, what if Rush Limbaugh got on it!

As opposed to the biased schlock we get for free now?
 
As opposed to the biased schlock we get for free now?

Accessibility and captive audience. Right now you can get a biased video for one side, but just as easily get the biased video from the other side. When you have a monopoly, there is no opposing side, it's just your side, or rather, whoever has the most money to throw at the provider, it's the exact thing net neutrality was supposed to prevent.
 
Accessibility and captive audience. Right now you can get a biased video for one side, but just as easily get the biased video from the other side. When you have a monopoly, there is no opposing side, it's just your side, or rather, whoever has the most money to throw at the provider, it's the exact thing net neutrality was supposed to prevent.

I was speaking more generally including television and print. But the internet experience is not untouched. In terms of content generation, outside some dude's blog, the content generation is pretty much owned by the same folks that own TV & Print, now. And although right now their level of touch varies, its there.

So yeah, you can pull any side you want, but the only people who pull a specific viewpoint are people already in that choir as in "preaching to the choir". Events are influenced by influencing the undecided or people in the middle. They don't actively pull one side or the other, they take it as it comes assuming its random or not curated or not giving it a thought.

But it is curated. Even social media is likely curated, take Reddit's SJW moderation issue of late, and other media with a 'trending' or push news feeds we don't see the inner workings at all but I would doubt they are not curated. Search results as well. So the deciding middle basically is already drinking from a poisoned pool.

Chances are we're just seeing an argument between different flavors of manipulation.
 
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OTA television and radio have been doing just fine offering free service paid for by nothing but commercials, so it stands the reason internet could be offered just the same. Kinda surprised it hasnt until now. It will have it's pros and cons. Most of us dont watch OTA tv anymore because there are reception issues, quality issues, lack of content, too many commercials, too much censorship, etc. People will find reasons not to use free internet too. Facebook cant offer the equivalent of the triple play package with all the premium channels in 4K when it comes to a free internet model.
 
OTA television and radio have been doing just fine offering free service paid for by nothing but commercials, so it stands the reason internet could be offered just the same. Kinda surprised it hasnt until now. It will have it's pros and cons. Most of us dont watch OTA tv anymore because there are reception issues, quality issues, lack of content, too many commercials, too much censorship, etc. People will find reasons not to use free internet too. Facebook cant offer the equivalent of the triple play package with all the premium channels in 4K when it comes to a free internet model.

If the amount of advertising shoved down our throats now on the internet isn't enough to provide free access, I hate to see what it will be like when it does.
 
OTA television and radio have been doing just fine offering free service paid for by nothing but commercials, so it stands the reason internet could be offered just the same. Kinda surprised it hasnt until now.

Back in the days of dialup, there used to be at least one advertising based "free" isp. Netzero comes to mind.
 
Just like the cable TV, some folks pay upward of $100/mo just for TV portion alone and still get more ads than programming. Ridiculous!
 
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