Internet.org is a partnership between social networking services company Meta Platforms and six companies (Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia and Qualcomm) that plans to bring affordable access to selected Internet services to less developed countries by increasing efficiency, and facilitating the development of new business models around the provision of Internet access. The app delivering these services was renamed Free Basics in September 2015. As of April 2018, 100 million people were using internet.org.
It has been criticized for violating net neutrality, and by handpicking internet services that are included, for discriminating against companies not in the list, including competitors of Meta Platforms' subsidiary Facebook. In February 2016, regulators banned the Free Basics service in India based on "Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations". The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) accused Facebook of failing to pass on the four questions in the regulator's consultation paper and also blocking access to TRAI's designated email for feedback on Free Basics. On February 11, 2016, Facebook withdrew the Free Basics platform from India. In July 2017, Global Voices published the widespread report "Free Basics in Real Life" analyzing its practices in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and concluding it violates net neutrality, focuses on "Western corporate content", and overall "it's not even very helpful".
History
Internet.org was launched on August 20, 2013. At the time of launch, Facebook's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a ten-page whitepaper he had written elaborating on the vision that asserts that connectivity is a "human right". In the paper, he wrote that Internet.org was a further step in the direction of Facebook's past initiatives, such as Facebook Zero, to improve Internet access for people around the world.
During TechCrunch Disrupt on September 11, 2013 Zuckerberg elaborated further on his vision. TechCrunch blog compared Internet.org with Google's Project Loon. Zuckerberg also released a video on September 30, 2013 explaining Internet.org's goal of making the Internet 100 times more affordable.
On February 24, 2014, shortly before a keynote presentation by Zuckerberg at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 24, 2014, Internet.org unveiled several new projects: an education partnership called SocialEDU with Nokia and local carrier AirTel, edX, and the government in Rwanda; a project with Unilever in India; and a new Internet.org Innovation Lab with Ericsson in its Menlo Park HQ. In the presentation, Zuckerberg says that Facebook's recent acquisition of mobile messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion was closely related to the Internet.org vision.
In May 2015, Facebook announced the Internet.org Platform, an open program for developers to easily create services that integrate with Internet.org. This was seen by commentators as a response to concerns raised over net neutrality. Participating websites must meet three criteria: Explore the entire internet (so as to give users a taste of the wider Internet and therefore help them see the value of the Internet), Efficiency of data use (so that it would be economical for carriers to allow free access to the websites), and Technical specifications: optimized for browsing on a wide range of devices including smartphones and less sophisticated mobile devices, and should not be dependent on JavaScript or HTTPS.
Satellite development
On March 27, 2014, Facebook announced a connectivity lab as part of the Internet.org initiative, with the goal of bringing the Internet to everybody via drones, acquired from the company Ascenta. It is also communicated by the Connectivity Lab, that, besides using drones, low-Earth orbit and geosynchronous satellites would also be part of the project, for establishing internet connectivity in other areas. All three systems would rely on free space optics (FSO). In free space optics, the signal is sent in a compact bundle of infrared light
At Mobile World Congress March 2015, Mark Zuckerberg says that the Internet.org initiative was "willing to work" with Project Loon (Google's project to use high-altitude balloons to provide people cheaper Internet access) but emphasizes that in his view, the real work is in partnering with existing telecommunications companies to improve access and reduce costs for people already within range of a network, which he estimates at over 80% of the population.