Facebook’s Big Man Defends Free Basics Against Critics

From time to time, companies get criticized for their products or services. And when that happens, either the company stays quiet and attempts to sit all the controversies out or defends itself and its products or services. The latter is the case with Facebook.

Just a week ago, the social network's Free Basics initiative has been suspended by India over claims made by critics saying that the social media has violated net neutrality. To refresh users' memories, net neutrality is where Internet providers are supposed to avoid favoring a particular website or service and to maintain the same level of treatment to all.

This Monday, the big boss of the popular social network has once again spoken against critics. Mark Zuckerberg defended their Free Basics service in an article published in "The Times of India." Zuckerberg said that even though hospitals don't offer every treatment and libraries can't provide every book, they still provide a world of good.

Zuckerberg also said that Free Basics is an essential public service even if it can only offer access to a limited number of sites. And he went on to state that everyone deserves to have access to tools and information to help them achieve their fundamental economic and social rights.

Facebook's CEO also went on to tell critics that instead of helping and wanting to give people access to some basic Internet services for free, they continue to destroy the initiative with false claims. This leaves billions of users behind. Zuckerberg also wonders who could possibly be against the initiative that could help a lot of Internet users.

The company has been appealing to the public for support in their campaign. They have been running full-page advertisements on Indian newspapers and have also asked their Indian users to support digital equality and support their fight against those wanting to stop their initiative of providing free Internet to all.

They have also urged their consumers to contact the regulators and to voice their support regarding the issue. The personal appeal and defense of Zuckerberg seems to be part of that campaign. The decision regarding the validity of Free Basics is set to be reached by next month after the public hearings.