Net Neutrality Facts
The ongoing net neutrality debate in India has reached another level as Facebook and Trai tussle over unfair practices and lobbying.
Facebook’s accusation
Facebook has alleged that Trai’s office blocked email from its website that people were using to share their comments on differential pricing. Ankhi Das, director Facebook public policy, India and South Asia, wrote to Trai earlier this month.
Needless to say, Facebook had launched a public campaign to defend Free Basics that violates net neutrality. Differential pricing, the topic discussed in the consultation paper floated by Trai, is a key element of net neutrality. Banning differential pricing, means no discrimination and equal Internet for all, something Facebook’s Free Basic doesn’t follow.
Facebook, reportedly in a letter, told the regulator that despite comments from millions of Indians, “someone with access to designated Trai email account appears to have blocked receipt of all emails from Facebook to that Trai account.”
On December 17 at 5.51.53 (GMT) comments from Facebook were blocked which prevented further comments. The last date to send comments to Trai was 30 December and later changed to 7 January.
Number game
Going by the disclosed numbers, reports pointed out that Trai had received 24 lakh responses to its consultation paper on differential pricing for data services. Out of which, 13.5 lakh were sent via supportfreebasics.com and 5.44 lakh comments via facebookmail.com. Around 4.84 lakh comments came via forums such as Save the Internet. Trai said that most of them were in support for a ‘specific product Free Basics’ though the paper ‘hadn’t raised any such specific product’.
Ankhi Das reportedly claims that about 1.6 crore Facebook users have sent emails to Trai supporting Free Basics. Out of which 40 lakhs answered the specific questions addressed in the consultation paper.
Trai’s response
In response to Facebook’s letter, K V Sebastian, Joint Advisor (F & EA) has issued a letter stating how the Facebook’s standard template doesn’t address the issues raised in the consultation paper. Sebastian has shot back at Facebook saying if the responses were blocked, why did it take them so long to rake up the issue. He also pointed out another similar issue, which was immediately rectified and questioned Facebook why it took so long.
“If this were indeed the case, Trai should have been informed immediately for appropriate steps to be taken. In fact, a similar instance of user complaint regarding the non-functioning of an email address during the response period for this Consultation Paper was brought to the notice of Trai by individual stakeholders and the situation was immediately rectified. It is surprising that it took over 25 days for you to inform Trai of this,” he wrote in the letter.
He further added, “Your urging has the flavour of reducing this meaningful consultative exercise designed to produce informed decisions in a transparent manner into a crudely majoritarian and orchestrated opinion poll.” He also added that the social giant’s campaign was ‘wholly misplaced’.
“Neither the spirit nor the letter of a consultative process warants such an interpretation which, if accepted, has dangerous ramifications for policy-making in India,” he adds further.
The letter also emphasis on how Facebook doesn’t have the authority to speak for all its users. “Equally of concern is your self-appointed spokesmanship on behalf of those who have sent responses to Trai using your platform. It is noticed that you have not been authorised by your users to speak on behalf of them collectively. No disclosure in the act of sending a message to Trai using your platform to this effect has been issued to users,” he added.
You can read the complete letter by Trai to Facebook below:
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Trai clearly states that Facebook responses didn’t exactly address the questions raised in the paper and only the responses that specifically answer the questions will be considered. The letter also signifies that Trai isn’t going to take anything lying down and won’t just rely on polls or number of responses. It also seems to point out how social media companies have the ability to influence others. Earlier, we have seen reports about how Facebook has been misleading users with its campaign.
Facebook responds
The ongoing drama intensifies as Facebook has released an official statement in response to the letter issued by Trai. The social networking site states how it enabled 11.7 million citizens to file comments in support of Free Basics, in response to Trai’s consultation paper. Facebook claims that Trai wants them to reach out to these supporters asking them to answer specific questions, but other commentators who didn’t answer specific questions weren’t asked to do so.
“TRAI requested that we reach out to these Free Basics supporters to ask them to also answer the specific questions raised by the consultative paper. We are not aware of a similar request having been made to any of the other commenters who did not answer these specific questions. Nevertheless, we attempted to cooperate with their request. While we did not include all of the specific language drafted by TRAI, we did deliver a request for additional information and included in the draft email the exact language from the four specific questions posed in the consultation paper. More than 1.4 million people responded by submitting revised comments that addressed these questions, ” says the Facebook spokesperson.
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