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Facebook’s Free Basics violates net neutrality and isn’t even that good, says report

Facebook’s Free Basics violates net neutrality and isn’t even that good, says report

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The app relies on Bing and Facebook

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Facebook Exhibits Technologies At Innovation Hub
Photo by Sean Gallup / Getty Images

A report released today by activist group Global Voices found that not only does Facebook’s Free Basics violate net neutrality principles, it’s not even very helpful to those who use it. Free Basics, an app that provides free access to specific services in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, was already banned in India last year for violating net neutrality rules.

Upon opening the app, users have to get by with a Bing search engine, a Johnson & Johnson-sponsored baby advice app, and a number of other sponsored apps. Facebook is usually the only popular social media app available on Free Basics, predictably, while smaller, language-specific apps like ConnectAmericas for Mexico and Colombia were found in certain cases. Free Basics doesn’t have an email platform.

Why would anyone be using Free Basics if they already have the luxury of a Wi-Fi connection?

There are also language and content limitations. In Pakistan, for instance, Free Basics is only available in English and Urdu, leaving out Punjabi, Pashto, and other major languages. A similar problem exists in the other countries Global Voices studied. Most of the apps featured inside Free Basics are US and UK-based, with only one or two local options.

Although Facebook offers its Free Basics to 63 countries, the report only contains data from Columbia, Mexico, the Philippines, Ghana, Pakistan, and Kenya. With Free Basics, the report claims that Facebook acts essentially just like an ISP and collects users’ traffic data. “For users who want to get online with Free Basics, Facebook makes and enforces the rules of the road, and is the primary benefactor of profits generated by user data,” the report states.

Facebook’s argument is that limited internet access is better than none, and it’s connecting those who live in rural or impoverished areas in need.

That changes the story from how Facebook has described Free Basics

Still, those who use Free Basics may get conflicting information on how and when the program should be used. One researcher in Pakistan was prompted to install the service over a Wi-Fi connection. The report then asked the question, why would anyone be using Free Basics if they already have the luxury of a Wi-Fi connection?

That changes the story from how Facebook has described Free Basics. A 2016 survey by the Alliance for Affordable Internet shows that only 12 percent of Free Basics users had never used the internet before obtaining the app. Thirty-five percent of people who used the app also had another way of connecting to the internet as well, either through data or Wi-Fi.

In response to the study, Facebook said in a statement: “Our goal with Free Basics is to help more people experience the value and relevance of connectivity through an open and free platform. The study released by Global Voices, and the subsequent article in the Guardian, include significant inaccuracies. The study, based on a small group of Global Voices contributors in only a handful of countries, does not reflect the experiences of the millions of people in more than 65 countries who have benefited from Free Basics.”

Update July 28th, 11:22AM: This article has been updated to include a statement from Facebook.