GG,
This is great to bring on board the Facebook public policy crew. I have actually been looking for them! And with PS nominee for Broadcast and Telecommunications on board, FB answers to mine, Ali's and any other question may go a long way in charting the way forward on this important topic.
My seven questions follow below:
Anti-competitive
behaviour
*Those against zero-rated content argue
that it is anti-competitive because it disadvantages content providers who are
not zero-rating their content: My questions follow:
• 1.
What is your response to this, is zero rating anti-competitive?
• 2.
How do you ‘chose’ /discriminate whose content would be free or part of the
FreeBasics package?
• 3.
How do you ‘chose’/discriminate which operator to work with?
Promoting
Universal Access/Statistics
*Those supporting zero-rated content
argue that they provide access to those who would otherwise not have ANY access
- which is a good thing. They further argue that Free Facebook Access is only
introductory internet with users graduating later into Full-blown internet
access. My question follows:
• 4.
Can you share statistics of no of users on FreeBasics in Kenya?
• 5.
Can you then share statistics of the % of these FreeBasics users who then
migrated onto the Full blown internet in Kenya?
• 6.
Are there other statistical and independent sources for the above data?
Regulatory
perspectives
*Zero-Rated content is part of the wider
Net-neutrality debate with various regulatory options being suggested ranging
from strict regulation where Operators are asked to treat data equally without
blocking, throttling or interfering with it. Other economies prefer
self-regulations while the rest prefer No regulation(market decides approach).
My question follows:
• 7.
What would be Facebook suggestion on regulatory aspects of Net-neutrality in
general and Zero-rating in particular?
Look forward to the responses.
-walu.
From: Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
To: jwalu@yahoo.com
Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 7:02 AM
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Introducing Facebook Africa Public Policy Team to KICTANet
Grace
This is a great initiative and I applaud the Facebook team for making themselves available for this discussion.
1.Firstly my concerns about zero rating certain sites. Foremost of which is obviously Facebook. I'm really curious to understand the process that FB uses to choose these websites. Shouldn't the community that is being exposed to this 'closed garden' be given a say on which websites they would like to access in this 'free program'?
2. In which countries and regions is Free Basics operational? Do the regulatory environments of the US, Canada, India and EU allow FB to operationalize Free Basics because I'm certain that Internet Penetration levels have not hit 100% in those regions.
3. What are your comments on the recent re-jigging of Internet.org after a spate of bad press especially in India? Internet access is critical for development but we need to be sure that it's not skewed against our own burgeoning Internet Economy.
4. How can FB improve its image beyond that of seeking eyeballs for its core business - Advertising?
Ali Hussein
Tel: +254 713 601113
On Dec 1, 2015 12:07 AM, "Grace Githaiga via kictanet" <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Dear Listers
Greetings. I hope your week has started well.
The topic of Net Neutrality has become an important global Internet Governance issue in the last two years, and has generated some interesting debates.
In Kenya, Facebook has partnered with Airtel to offer users zero rated services, christened "free basics" which means that several websites have been selected (for lack of a proper word) to participate in the platform, where users access these websites for free. However, the same users cannot access any other website unless they pay for the data.
Those for pro zero rated services have argued that it gives more users free access to the Internet, and that it is a genuine attempt to connect the unconnected. Those on the opposite side argue that zero rating stifles innovation, leads to customers lock-in, is anti competitive behavior, confuses the users on the true meaning of the Internet, denies users choice, and makes policy makers lazy in ensuring proper affordable internet is availed to the masses.
Facebook's Head of Public Policy, Africa Ebele Okobi, and the Public Policy Manager, Africa Akua Gwekye have graciously agreed to respond to any queries the community has on zero rated services.
The Process
Please articulate your concerns and ask questions as we usually do when we have moderated debates. The facebook team will then look at the questions and respond to you on Wednesday Evening. Depending on how it goes, we can then see how to continue engaging with them.
I think this is a great opportunity for the facebook team to unpackage free basics issue, and it is my hope that the debate will be exciting given the prominence members of the list have given the net neutrality debate.
Over to you listers! And a very warm welcome to Ebele and Akua.
Warmly
Grace
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https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.comThe Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.