JOIN USFacebook founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg has taken internet.org — a company owned domain used to provide a bouquet of free web services to users of partner mobile operators — to the next level by offering it as a platform for Web developers around the world.
While doing so, Zuckerberg framed it as an initiative to provide free internet access to the four billion unconnected people in the world. “Giving four billion people free internet access is the right thing to do….Are we a community that values people and improving people’s lives above all else, or are we a community that puts the intellectual purity of technology above people’s needs?” he asked with rhetorical flourish in an accompanying video.
Zuckerberg also appeared to take a dig at activists and Net Neutrality supporters who have spoken out against zero-rated gated communities like Airtel Zero and internet.org. More than a million supporters of Net Neutrality had emailed telecom regulator TRAI in India in response to its consultation paper on Net Neutrality. But according to Zuckerberg, the people who are most affected by the Net Neutrality debate are the four billion without Net access. “...They have no voice on the internet. They can’t argue their side in the comments below or sign a petition for what they believe,” the billionaire founder of Facebook said.
Anyone can submit sites
By positioning internet.org as a platform, Facebook has opened it for submissions from developers of any website for inclusion as a bundled offering.
Applicant websites, however, are expected to follow the three conditions of ability to explore the whole internet; capability to efficiently handle data by avoiding requirements of high bandwidth, which means keeping off VoIP, video, file transfer, high resolution photos, and high volume of photos; and provision for browsing without requiring JavaScript and the protocols of SSL (secure socket layer), TLS (transport layer security), or HTTPS (HTTP Secure). Facebook says sites could still be declined by mobile operators even after their submissions clear its review process if they “cause undue strain to networks, or breach legal or regulatory requirements”.
At present, Facebook’s mobile service partner in India for internet.org is Reliance Communications. But that might soon change. In his video message, Zuckerberg made it clear that the company is open to more partners everywhere. “Everyone is welcome to join. It’s not exclusive to any mobile operator or company. Now, we had to start somewhere so we launched first with partners who want to work with us on this mission to connect the world. But we will work with anyone who wants to join us. No company pays to be included in internet.org. No operator is paid to offer these services. Facebook doesn’t even show ads in internet.org.”
Until now, content providers who wanted to make their services offered as a bundle through internet.org had to enter into an agreement with Facebook, which would in turn meet the terms of its telecom partner to offer the limited content to users for free. But with the service being offered to web developers everywhere, its scale and scope could vastly change, and may overturn traditional understanding of Net Neutrality.
Zuckerberg seemed to challenge the dogma when he said, “Some may argue for an extreme definition of Net Neutrality which says it’s somehow wrong to offer any more services to support the unconnected. But a reasonable definition of it is more inclusive. Access equals opportunity.”
He added, “It’s not sustainable to offer the whole internet for free though. It costs billions of dollars every year to run the internet and no operator could afford this if everything were free. But it is sustainable to build free basic services that are simpler, use less data, and work on all low-end phones.”