META Meta Platforms Inc

By Newley Purnell in Singapore and Resty Woro Yuniar in Jakarta 

When Muhammad Maiyagy Gery heard about a new mobile app from Facebook Inc. that provides free Internet access in his native Indonesia, he was excited.

But after testing it, the 24-year-old student from a mining town on the eastern edge of Borneo soon deleted the app, called Internet.org, frustrated that he was unable to access Google.com and some local Indonesian sites.

Mr. Gery said Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg is an "inspiration in the tech world," but added that the company's free Internet effort is "inadequate."

Mr. Gery's reaction illustrates the unexpected criticism Facebook has encountered to its bold initiative to bring free Internet access to the world's four billion people who don't have it, and to increase connectivity among those with limited access. He is one of many users who say a Facebook-led partnership is providing truncated access to websites, thwarting the principles of what is known in the U.S. as net neutrality--the view that Internet providers shouldn't be able to dictate consumer access to websites.

Since Mr. Zuckerberg's announcement of the $1 billion project two years ago, Facebook has launched Internet.org in 19 countries across Asia, Latin America and Africa by teaming up with mobile carriers and technology giants including Samsung Electronics Co., chip maker Qualcomm Inc. and telecom-equipment firm Ericsson AB. Facebook says that through the initiative, in which it is also experimenting with drones and satellites to deliver Web access, some nine million people have come online.

Users with data-enabled feature phones can access a special website through a mobile browser, while those with smartphones can download the app from Google's Play Store. Though arrangements vary by country, the Internet.org app typically provides a simplified, low-data version of Facebook, its Messenger service and selected local websites offering services like jobs, health information and sports updates. Facebook says it works with mobile operators, which provide free data, and governments to pick sites for the platform.

While some applaud the Internet initiative, the U.S. company is dealing with a backlash from users in some of its fastest-growing markets like Indonesia and India, which are key to its future expansion.

In response to the criticism, Mr. Zuckerberg earlier this year wrote an opinion article that appeared in two Indian newspapers defending the project. He argued that the initiative is compatible with the principles of net neutrality, and that if people "can't afford to pay for connectivity, it is always better to have some access and voice than none at all."

But criticism about the initiative has placed Facebook in an awkward position. The social network along with other tech companies like Amazon.com Inc. and Twitter Inc. are members of the U.S. industry group Internet Association, which advocates for net neutrality, among other issues. In markets like Indonesia and India, critics say Facebook is more interested in controlling which websites users can tap into than in ensuring free Internet access. "It's not Internet.org. It's walled garden.org," said Sunil Abraham, head of the Bangalore, India-based Center for Internet and Society.

Facebook wants to be seen as a pioneer "of the open and free Internet and not the opposite," said Neha Dharia, an analyst at telecommunications research firm Ovum.

On Thursday, Facebook said it was changing the name of the Internet.org app and mobile website to Free Basics by Facebook in order to better distinguish it from the company's wider Internet.org initiative. Asked whether the change was related to criticism of the project, a Facebook spokeswoman said that the name will "more intuitively describe the product to consumers."

Chris Daniels, Facebook's vice president in charge of the project, said in a recent interview that he has been surprised by the criticism of the project, noting that many people have gained access to the Web.

This spring in India, travel website Cleartrip, news channel NDTV and a mobile news app pulled their content from the platform amid concerns over net neutrality.

Cleartrip referred inquiries about its reasons for leaving the initiative to an April statement it posted on its website. In that statement, the company said the backlash in India "gave us pause to rethink our approach to Internet.org and the idea of large corporations getting involved with picking and choosing who gets access to what and how fast."

Vishal Anand, chief product officer at mobile news app Dailyhunt, said that "While we appreciate the effort to give people Internet access, we fully support the principles of net neutrality." He declined to elaborate on the company's specific objections to Internet.org.

Prannoy Roy, executive co-chairperson of NDTV, said the company stands "firmly on the side of net neutrality." Mr. Roy declined to detail the company's specific complaints about Facebook's initiative.

Facebook's Mr. Daniels said in India, where Internet.org launched in February, concerns over net neutrality are "grounded in false fears" that Facebook is offering a "walled garden," since many users ultimately buy data plans and access the Internet at-large.

In interviews with more than a dozen users in Indonesia, where Internet.org launched in April, many said they weren't interested in the app or weren't happy with the selection of websites.

Search results on Ask.com--which is available via the platform in Indonesia--can be viewed free of charge, but users incur a data fee when clicking through to websites not included in the initiative. Facebook notes that Google and Microsoft Corp.'s Bing search engine are a part of the program in some countries, but not Indonesia.

Soon after the backlash In India, Facebook began to open up its program to outside developers as long as their sites were compatible on both feature phones and smartphones and worked in low-bandwidth conditions.

Some mobile operators are expecting to benefit from Internet.org, providing data free of charge in hopes that low-income users will become hooked on Internet connectivity and ultimately pay for data plans.

Alexander Rusli, chief executive of Indonesian operator PT Indosat Tbk., which has teamed up with the social-media company, said the number of people who pay for data on his network is "rising but still small." He declined to provide specific numbers.

"The common interest between us and Facebook is they want to get the number of Facebook customers up," said Mr. Rusli. "We don't mind pushing their agenda because we know Facebook customers tend to be more sticky," or inclined to use data services more frequently. He added that his company tries to steer clear of the net-neutrality debate.

The Facebook spokeswoman disputed the view that the company's mission is to boost user numbers. "That is not the intent of Internet.org," she said, noting the company's mission is "to make the world more open and connected, and Internet.org is an extension of that mission."

As for Mr. Gery, he said he hopes Internet.org becomes less restricted.

"Internet.org has the potential to unite the world but when I run out of data packs, I choose not to go online."

Preetika Rana in New Delhi contributed to this article.

Write to Newley Purnell at newley.purnell@wsj.com and Resty Woro Yuniar at restyworo.yuniar@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2015 14:44 ET (18:44 GMT)

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