Face book has been promoting the cause of ‘free basics’ of internet along with its telecom partner Reliance. It has been requesting the public through various media to support the free basics campaign. Some of the posters by FB seem to portray the situation as a social revolution. They almost hint that ‘free basics’ is necessary to make the world a better place to live! Ever since the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked for a public opinion regarding the free basics, Face book has come up with huge campaign in support of free basics. ‘Free basics’ is a platform where the mobile users could get access to certain internet sites without paying a dime. It was previously launched as ‘internet.org’, but after facing severe criticism, the campaign was renamed as ‘Free basics’.

‘Free basics’ certainly sound to be a great initiative. But, here is the criticism. ‘Free basics’ would allow only a few selected sites such as Facebook! So it’s initially seen as a ploy by the Facebook to conquer the internet world! It also means that the mobile operators would charge various rates for various sites! TRAI has been opposing such partiality and has asked for a public opinion. But, Facebook has been clever enough to enter the public debate and turn it in its favour. The campaign of Facebook seems to yield positive results for the company, because most of the emails that TRAI received have voted for ‘Free basics’. On a letter written by TRAI on 18th January, it has severely critisised Facebook for influencing the public in its favour. It has alleged that Facebook has not conveyed the real concerns of TRAI such as differential pricing, and has been manipulating the public opinion. What else can TRAI do?