When India’s internet regulator on Monday decided that it would not allow services such as Facebook’s subsidised internet platform Free Basics to operate on the grounds that it violated the principles of net neutrality, the news would have undoubtedly left one man in California feeling rather dejected.
Free Basics is a subsidised internet platform that gives users Facebook and a few other services for free. Facebook said this would help connect India’s poor people to the internet. However, critics claimed that it works against the rules of net neutrality, according to which all material on the Internet should be treated equally by internet service providers.
Mark Zuckerberg had invested a lot of time and effort into his pet project, which sought to provide free but regulated internet plans to users. The company splurged on billboards, newspaper advertisements and even impassioned editorials written by the Facebook co-founder himself. He also held meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US and in India in an attempt to realise his dream of “bringing the internet to everyone”.
As a consequence, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s notification that it would “prohibit discriminatory tariffs for data services” came as a body blow to the billionaire.
As many declared the regulator’s decision on Monday as a victory for a free internet, some also chose to combine sympathy with humour to commiserate with the Facebook boss.
Here’s a selection:
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