Social networking giant Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has disapproved of his colleague's controversial tweet comparing Free Basics to colonialism, which created an uproar on the social media.
Zuckerberg came down heavily on Facebook board member Marc Andreessen for his offensive tweet and termed it 'deeply upsetting'.
"I want to respond to Marc Andreessen's comments about India yesterday. I found the comments deeply upsetting, and they do not represent the way Facebook or I think at all," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post.
"India has been personally important to me and Facebook. Early on in my thinking about our mission, I travelled to India and was inspired by the humanity, spirit and values of the people. It solidified my understanding that when all people have the power to share their experiences, the entire world will make progress," he added.
Andreessen had earlier wrote on Twitter after India's telecom watchdog the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said no to discriminatory pricing of data content: "Anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades. Why stop now?"
In a setback to Facebook's free internet scheme, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on February 8 ruled out differential pricing, saying that no company via any offer could charge discriminatory tariff for data on the basis of content effective immediately.
"We have come out with a regulation, which is essentially mandate that no service provider shall charge differential pricing. If a service provider is in contravention of these regulations, TRAI may direct them to withdraw tariff," TRAI chairman R.S. Sharma had said.
The ruling has brought an end to the debate on net neutrality going on in the country over Free Basics services offered by social media giant Facebook.
Facebook's Free Basics plan, launched in many developing countries, offers pared-down web services on mobile phones, along with access to Facebook's own social network and messaging services, without charge.
