Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has distanced his company from the views expressed by board member, Marc Andreessen, in a tweet contending that anti-colonialism has been an economic disaster for India.
"I want to respond to Marc Andreessen's comments about India yesterday. I found the comments deeply upsetting, and they do not represent the way Facebook or I think at all," Zuckerberg wrote condemning Andreessen's Twitter outburst in a Facebook post.
The comment fired off from Andreessen's @pmarca Twitter account came after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) dealt a blow to Facebook's plans to offer free mobile Internet through its controversial Free Basics service, by outlawing differential pricing for data packages.
"Denying world's poorest free partial Internet connectivity when today they have none, for ideological reasons, strikes me as morally wrong," Andreessen wrote.
"Anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades. Why stop now?"
A large number of Twitter users blasted Andreessen for his comments, which he deleted and apologised later in a series of tweets.
"I apologise for any offense caused by my earlier tweet about Indian history and politics," Andreessen said. "I will leave all future commentary on all of these topics to people with more knowledge and experience than me."
While not ruling explicitly on net neutrality, TRAI decided not to allow what it called "discriminatory pricing" for different data platforms or content. The regulator's ruling suggests that Free Basics, will not be allowed to continue in its current form.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (R), Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen (L) and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen attend the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho July 11, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
Earlier this week, Zuckerberg said he was disappointed with the Indian ruling and said that the company was still "working to break down barriers to connectivity in India and around the world."
On a visit to New Delhi in October, Zuckerberg spoke of his desire to help "the next billion" - the approximate number of Indians without the Internet - get online. The technology giant had mounted a campaign via newspapers, television and text messages in India, asking people to lobby the regulator not to bar Free Basics.
TRAI's ruling was a clear victory for net neutrality advocates, who seek to prevent companies from restricting access to the Internet, with the regulator saying it had been "guided by the principles of net neutrality."
I want to respond to Marc Andreessen's comments about India yesterday. I found the comments deeply upsetting, and they...Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Comments
0 comment