Dear TOI and Facebook, Net Neutrality Is Absolute. You Can Keep Your Conditional Support To Yourself.

Why TOI and Facebook’s conditional support is problematic.

WrittenBy:Manisha Pande
Date:
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It’s not unusual for Times Group’s news properties to take credit for breaking stories they didn’t break or exclusives that everyone else has. But to co-opt a very visible and vocal people-driven online movement takes another level of, let’s say, audacity. Or perhaps delusion.

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In case you missed it amid all the rallying for Net Neutrality, it is the Times of India and its language websites that have been “spearheading” the movement in India.

Not aggregator sites like Reddit that urged people to write to the Telecom Authority of India (Trai) and got them to draft Guidelines on the Net Neutrality and Internet Traffic Management Act, 2015. Not websites like Medianama that have kept the spotlight on the issue with their consistent reporting. Not the netizens behind netneutrality.in or savetheinternet.in who have made it super easy for everyone to cut through the jargon and respond to Trai’s consultation paper (do it now in case you haven’t). And not even consumers who have sent in nearly 8 lakh submissions (and counting) to Trai and made their voices heard in support of Net Neutrality. Nope. It is the Times of India.

That’s right, a report TOI published today about its own group very smoothly informed its readers that it has been leading the fight for Net Neutrality in India. For all its grandstanding, though, the report goes on to say its withdrawal from Internet.org – a Facebook-led initiative that in essence violates the principles of Net Neutrality – is conditional and depends on what its competitors do. Because that’s how you lead — by following your competitors actions.

In effect, the headline screams “commitment” to withdraw from internet.org, only for the body copy to state that the commitment comes with the condition that others do it first.

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So much for spearheading a movement.

To think TOI won’t use misleading headlines at least when it comes to reporting on its own group.

The report with the byline Times News Network further has a quote by a Times official given to a Times reporter that says: “We support net neutrality because it creates a fair, level playing field for all companies – big and small – to produce the best service and offer it to consumers. We will lead the drive towards a neutral internet, BUT WE NEED OUR FELLOW PUBLISHERS AND CONTENT PROVIDERS TO DO SO AS WELL, SO THAT THE PLAYING FIELD CONTINUES TO BE LEVEL.” (Emphasis added to highlight hypocrisy.)

The quote, by the way, is followed by another paragraph that insists that the Times Group has led the fight for Net Neutrality.

Then, there was also the Economic Times column by the ET bureau that has a “Times source” stating: “Our statement is a little conditional because we have competitors that are there. Our internal stance is that we won’t ever be first or only one to zero rate. But won’t take a position that hurts competitively.”

Clearly, someone should have told Times Group that there is no such thing as almost pregnant. You either support Net Neutrality or you don’t. No caveats needed. Many people on Twitter did.

Amid all the flak Times Group received for its conditional stance on Net Neutrality, many wondered though why internet.org, an initiative pitched to bring universal connectivity, especially to the rural poor, is considered anti-Net Neutrality. In India, Facebook has partnered with Reliance Communication to provide free access to its own app and a host of services, including news websites like Aaj Tak, Daily Bhaskar, BBC News, IBNLive, India Today, Times of India and so on. Facebook Founder and Chief Operation Officer has argued that internet.org is not anti-Net Neutrality and merely “lowers the cost of accessing the Internet.”

The problem lies in the assumption that the Internet is Facebook and the 30 or so websites that the social media giant and Reliance have chosen to provide free access to. In deciding for its users what basic Internet services are, internet.org directly violates Net Neutrality.

“The principle of Net Neutrality is that consumer choice is not being influenced by the pipe, or by a telecom operator. So if a telecom operator is choosing to provide Facebook and a bunch of services for free, it does impact consumer choice. It is discrimination by the telecom operator,” say Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama.

He adds that internet.org does not take the Internet to the masses. It takes Facebook to the masses. “A collection of 30 or even 100 sites is not the Internet. The internet is millions of sites, and just by giving a few things free and putting Facebook as the dominant force is dangerous. Moreover, whoever is on internet.org becomes a dominant market force. Internet.org grows Facebook, it doesn’t grow the Internet,” he says.

The fear that Facebook and Reliance would play king makers and reduce consumer choice is very real along with the possibility that internet.org could be used as a propaganda tool. For example, Reliance in the future could very well partner with a political party to give free access to its website and thus have more visibility and influence voters.

But if internet.org is not the solution, then how do we achieve universal connectivity? The government already has a plan to connect 2,50,000 panchayats in the next three years under the National Optical Fiber Network. The good news is that the initiative aims to provide Internet access to rural India and not a handful of sites in the name of Internet.

Because, well, Facebook is not the internet – only a part and a very minuscule one at that.

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