There’s a huge ongoing debate on Net Neutrality in India with a massive protest against the Airtel Zero platform. Airtel recently cleared a few airs around its Zero platform but it does not seem to have had any positive effect, as Flipkart has backed out of the platform.
The massive protest against the Airtel Zero platform has seen over 3 lakh people emailing Telecom Regulatory of India through SaveTheInternet.in in support of Net Neutrality. According to supporters of Net Neutrality, the Airtel Zero platform creates discrimination between apps and services, which is against the principles of Net Neutrality. The Airtel Zero platform asks the companies to pay for the data that users use on their services, which would lead to smaller apps being left out.
Flipkart, arguably the biggest e-commerce in India initially had supported the Airtel Zero platform, which resulted in a backlash against the company. Many people gave the Flipkart apps 1-star ratings to show their displeasure.
Flipkart now says that it has always been a strong believer in the concept of net neutrality and after a lot of debate, it has decided to walk away “from the ongoing discussions with Airtel for their platform Airtel Zero”. Flipkart also says, “We will be working towards ensuring that the spirit of Net Neutrality is upheld and applied equally to all companies in India irrespective of the size or the service being offered and there is absolutely no discrimination whatsoever.”
