Total Pageviews

Friday, October 07, 2016

Facebook is talking to the White House about giving US ‘free’ Internet - WashPost

Facebook is talking to the White House about giving you ‘free’ Internet. Here’s why that may be controversial. - The Washington Post: "In the wake of the uproar, Facebook updated its approach to Free Basics. It currently allows any third-party organization to offer its services as part of the program, provided that the organization's developers abide by terms that, for example, prohibit the use of high-definition images or video that could consume a great deal of mobile data.

U.S. Internet advocates have called on the Federal Communications Commission to regulate zero-rating under its net neutrality rules. The practice, they argue, risks tilting the online marketplace to benefit large, established firms, or the corporate partners of those firms.

“Zero-rating is pernicious, unfair and unnecessary,” said Susan Crawford, a law professor at Harvard who has advocated for strong regulation of the broadband industry. Permitting the practice would simply enable “the gameplaying of companies who have a strong interest in maintaining the status quo.”

The agency has not decided whether to take action." 'via Blog this'

No comments: