Facebook’s Regulatory Battle Over Free Basics in India Is Getting Feisty

Facebook’s battle with Indian regulators is turning into a public ‘he said, she said’ debate as the two sides continue to fight over Facebook’s Free Basics app, the social network’s effort to bring free Internet services — including Facebook — to emerging markets.

A new letter published online by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India showcases a number of accusations between the two sides in which the only thing that seems clear is that the entire situation is pretty murky. The tl;dr version: Facebook is trying to recruit users to support its Free Basics app, which is under fire from Indian regulators. These regulators argue that Facebook isn’t sharing all the necessary info with said users in order to ensure they know what they’re arguing for. And Facebook claims regulators are blocking emails of support from its user base.

The longer, more detailed version: TRAI is in the process of collecting public opinion on how the country should regulate zero-rating services like Free Basics. It claims that Facebook, which has been encouraging its users in India to support Free Basics by emailing TRAI from their Facebook accounts, failed to give users the appropriate consultation paper it released and asked people to respond to. In other words, TRAI claims Facebook isn’t sharing the relevant material with people its recruiting to fight for its app.

On the other side, Facebook is accusing TRAI of “unsubscribing” to emails from Facebook users trying to support Free Basics, thus blocking their effort to support Facebook’s app.