First thing first: communist is not an offense. I mean, I could have said keynesian protectionist with a solonian itch to kill freedom for the greater good, but come on, you wouldn't have understood.
So yesterday, basically Indian judges has forbidden Zuckerberg to donate to India free access to Wikipedia, Healtcare services, Weather information - and obviously, Facebook. That's what happened. You could have read a bunch of self righteous I-can't-even-see-my-own-nose conspirationist chit-chat on net neutrality etcetera etcetera, but when you will have read this post till the very end, remember thisbefore spamming about the Facebook's evil nature on Facebook: yesterdayIndia forbids Indians to have access for free to some basic online services and information.
No, I won't tell you this story since the beginning.
Get (just) this: after scoring with about 1 billion users, Zuck decided it was about time to take another objective: bringing online the rest of the world.
So Zuckerberg announced a new foundation: Internet.org. And an app:Free Basics. In the developing world mobile phones are more common than desktop computers, you know.
Well, you could object that this is just an evil plan to profit from billions of people gaining access to Internet, and thus, to Facebook. Facebook just wants my money, that's what you're saying. I've heard another one that's funny among the comments in Zuck's Facebook page: Facebook plans to keep Indian Internet under control.
LOL.
And how is it supposed to be doing this? Probably, sort of this way.
What's hilariousis that these objections are all true. But also disastrously naives.
Just follow my reasoning.
1. Mark clearly wants to get into India. You can see Mark's commitment to India just by counting the number of India-here-India-there posts Zuck has published during these months.
How to get into India? Easy: free Internet!
2. Facebook's continuous growth must be fueled somehow. Stockholders are hungry people - but last time I checked, this was not a crime.
3. Facebook can't just be alone in its quest when comes the time to get the wallet out. Telecom businesses are its allies. Facebook provides the platform, fosters the network and builds drones to irradiate large areas with Internet (drones that plans to sell to the Telecoms themselves), while Telecoms provide free access.
Translated: they lose money to give millions of people free access to some basic online services and information. But, know what? Telecoms are not a charity.
They don't have infinite money to donate free stuff to everyone. Free Basics provides only a few services for free, while charges you for other ones.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo, how bad they are.
I can't believe it. God smite them!
The evil Nazgul at Facebook give me just a bunch of free stuff, they don't give me the whole Internet for free!
No Mark, I won't forgive you for not having me donatedall the Internet services and apps and websites and programs and stuff in the world, no I won't forgive you, EVER!
Hey dear reader: just be logic, please.
How could it be otherwise? Fresh News: there's nothing like a free lunch under the sun. Even if the UN decided to donate free Internet toeverybody, that would cost someone's money.
4. Facebook is a profit company. So even if now is just investing money to bring the rest of the world online, this will turn into gold when they will all be Facebook users. So Mark wants to donate to the unconnected world free access to a limited portion of Internet, and while doing this, he wanna profit. So what? Who wouldn't anyway? And what's bad about profit made by donating tomillions of people access to some basic online services and information?
Bottom line
Indian judges forbid Internet.org to donatefree limited Internettomillions of people because of net neutrality. Or because freedom is dangerous and that, attaboy: that is the one that always is put under control by some guy that takes himself too seriously.
Timeo Zuckerberg et donum ferentem
