The Free Basics program of Facebook apparently aims to bring internet service to billions of people in developing nations. (Photo : Reuters)
Facebook has announced that its Free Basics program in Egypt has shut down with net neutrality issue.
Egypt became the second country to clamp down on the social media giant’s controversial free internet service. The move comes amid growing debate over whether the service, which critics say would create a wall prioritizing some websites over others, violates the principles of net neutrality.
“We’re disappointed that Free Basics will no longer be available in Egypt,” Facebook confirmed the shut down in Egypt to the Associated Press.“More than 1 million people who were previously unconnected had been using the Internet because of these efforts.”
Developed under Facebook's Internet.org branch, the service had over 3 million users in Egypt, a third of which were first-time users. The hiatus of Free Basics in Egypt comes just two months after telecom provider Etisalat Egypt began offering the service, according to TechCrunch.
It was not immediately clear why the program was halted. Neither Etisalat nor Egyptian officials could immediately be reached for comment. The program was recently highlighted at an entrepreneurship fair in Cairo.
Aside from Egypt, India was the only other country so far to have put down a freeze on the program. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will reconsider the service after it is clarified whether a telecom operator should be allowed to give a different price for different kinds of content.
The Free Basics program, part of Facebook’s ambitious yet disputed Internet.org plan, apparently aims to bring internet service to billions of people in developing nations. It was launched in 37 countries so far.
