Facebook partners with mobile carriers in several developing countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Pakistan to give users free access to its social media platform and other websites.
However, it was revealed that users have been getting charged by their cellular providers in secret.
Facebook's Free Internet to Developing Countries
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Facebook's free internet service, called Free Basics, is offered to users through Meta Connectivity that is meant to provide users with access to low-bandwidth services for free.
The program was launched in 2013, and as of October 2021, it serves more than 300 million users, according to ABP Live.
In an internal report viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook knew that users were still getting charged to use Free Basics for months and calls the problem "leakage" as it occurs when paid services begin overlapping with what is supposed to be free.
Also Read : Facebook Free Basics Coming To India Again: Can Mark Zuckerberg's 'Internet For All' Get More People Online?
Since most of the users the program serves are already on prepaid plans, a lot of them don't even realize that they have been getting charged for using mobile data until their funds are dried out.
The Wall Street Journal notes that users in Pakistan have been charged the most for using the free internet of Facebook. Users in Pakistan were charged a total of $1.9 million, with two dozen additional nations also affected.
The issue appears to stem from the company's software and user interface or UI, with videos at the root of the issue.
Videos are not supposed to appear on Free Basics, but glitches in the platform's software let some slip through the cracks.
The notifications that are supposed to inform the user that they will be charged for watching videos do not appear.
According to documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook found that 83% of unnecessary charges come from videos, which are not supposed to appear in the first place.
Facebook is Fixing the Problem
Facebook said that it is fixing the issue. Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for Meta, told The Verge that they tell people that viewing photos and videos will result in data charges when they sign up, and they do their best to remind users that viewing them will result in data charges.
Pusateri added that the issue identified in the internal report that affected the reminders for users had been addressed. He added that they would continue to work with their partners to meet their obligations to these users and ensure accurate and transparent data charges.
As pointed out by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook's growth has largely come to a stop in developed markets and is only rising in low-connectivity countries.
Facebook has been acting as a social site in these developing countries and as an internet provider. It has deployed its own Wi-Fi throughout these developing countries and has also introduced Facebook Discover, a feature similar to Free Basics, which gives limited free data daily.
In 2016, India banned Facebook's Free Basics, citing that it violates the values of net neutrality.
Related Article: Zuckerberg Talks 'Free Basics' After India Ban: 'We Won't Give Up'
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Written by Sophie Webster
