The Question of Net Neutrality: Prof. Rahul Dé

For a telecom regulatory authority in a developing country, reducing the digital divide is an important goal, while it maintains net neutrality through the mechanisms it implements or allows to be implemented. The case, ‘The Question of Net Neutrality’, presents the dilemma that the Indian telecom regulator, the TRAI, faces while it decides whether to allow a private firm, Facebook, to launch a zero-rating service. The case is set at the time when Facebook Inc. came up with an offer of launching Internet.org as a zero-rating service. Under this plan, Internet.org (later rebranded as Free Basics) would act as a platform to connect a range of content providers (CPs) through which the hitherto unconnected populations would have access to the internet. However, this access would be limited to the content provided by CPs, who tied up with the Free Basics platform. Presenting a comprehensive history of the net neutrality debate, the case offers views of all the stakeholders called by the regulatory authority to present their perspectives. The stakeholders include the ISPs (internet service providers), CPs, end consumers represented by civil society, the regulatory body itself, and the government. The case brings up the issues related to the digital divide, privacy of consumers, competition, freedom of expression, etc., from the perspective of all the stakeholders.