New Delhi: Amid a massive public campaign to support net neutrality in India, online retail giant Flipkart announced on Tuesday that it will not be a part of the new Airtel platform that was attacked for allowing users to access partner apps without any charges for data.
Called Airtel Zero, the platform creates discrimination within content, an absolute no-no for the internet, say supporters of net neutrality, which mandates that all data must be treated equally. Airtel’s Zero platform asks partners or content providers to pay for the data consumed by users of the app. That means that smaller companies who cannot afford those costs, would be left out of the mix.
Ever since the first reports about Flipkart joining Airtel Zero, users have reacted strongly, and the backlash has seen the app being given one-star ratings on app stores. In a statement Tuesday, Flipkart said that it will be walking away from ongoing discussions with Airtel for Airtel Zero.
The internet’s success in fostering innovation, access to knowledge and freedom of speech is in large part due to the principle of net neutrality — the idea that internet service providers give their customers equal access to all lawful websites and services on the internet, without giving priority to any website over another.
But due to intense lobbying by telecom operators like Airtel and Vodafone, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to allow them to block apps and websites to extort more money from consumers and businesses.
In the wake of enormous criticism, the government has now created a committee of six members to review the issue. Already over three lakh people have emailed to TRAI in the last 48 hours via the www.savetheInternet.in website, asking the government to ensure net neutrality.
Last month, TRAI released a paper inviting comments from users and companies on how internet apps and services should be regulated. Some of the language in the paper had experts worried the regulator might take a pro-telecom stance in its final recommendations.
Meanwhile, Yuva Shiv Sena chief, Aditya Thackeray, has urged TRAI to stall attempts to axe net neutrality which, according to him, will draw public ire and do lasting damage to the nation which is on the threshold of moving forward digitally.
“Killing net neutrality and allowing telecom operators to do so is not only draconian but also messes up the entire utility angle of access to internet that has been widely used in the country. People from almost every social and economic strata have a mobile phone and unknowingly use the internet to communicate. Furthermore, such an option to charge websites for either access or speed would simply kill National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s Make in India campaign, whereby many young people have start-ups or small businesses via websites,” Thackeray said in a letter to TRAI.
