Facebook plugs out Free Basics from India

While Facebook had promoted Free Basics as a programme aimed at providing basic Internet access to people in partnership with telecom operators, critics slammed the service saying it violated the principle of net neutrality.

Reddy’s stepping down comes a day after Facebook shut down “Free Basics” in India following an order by telecom regulator Trai barring operators from charging discriminatory charges for Internet entry based mostly on content material.

While overtly vocal in supporting Facebook’s global cause of giving free mobile internet access to people through its lightweight Free Basics Program, Andreessen’s twitter statement did not offer much help to the company’s legal woes in India. Mr Andreessen on Wednesday kicked off a controversy on the social media by suggesting that India’s decision to bar discriminatory tariffs for data services is “anti-colonialist” idea and the country would suffer “economically catastrophic” due to this. But, it suspended after the directive.

The reaction among Silicon Valley’s Indian community has been swift, denouncing the comments and Facebook’s Free Basics efforts as demeaning.

India is home to 130 million Facebook users, second only to the U.S. In her role, Ms. Reddy worked with advertisers around the world who wanted to reach Facebook users in India.

Prior to Facebook, Reddy was the India director for Motorola. It had drawn a huge backlash online.

“As I do this, I continue to experience the same aha moments as I did in my first few weeks at Facebook – that our mission is so much bigger, the opportunities are so much larger, and each facebooker is so much more jaw-dropping-inspiring than one thinks possible”, she added.

In a tweet, Andreesen claimed that India’s valuation of net neutralitywas part of an “anti-colonialism” mindset that had hindered the country “for decades” after it declared independence in 1947. Andreesen later deleted the tweet.