In Egypt, closed free internet service Facebook

As reported by The Verge, Egypt became the second country to shut down the free Internet service Facebook - India did the same last week. The Free Basics service is part of a Facebook-organized initiative called Internet.org, which is designed to make the Internet more accessible in developing countries. Some Internet activists believe that this initiative violates the principles of network neutrality by creating a “walled garden” that gives priority to certain websites, since Free Basics provides free access to Facebook and a certain number of other “non-hostile” websites.

Facebook partner in Egypt, which is a telecommunications service provider Etisalat Egypt, began providing Free Basics two months ago, and according to Facebook, more than 3 million people signed up for the service in this short period of time. The company also claims that out of these 3 million people, 1 million users have access to the Internet for the first time. “We are very disappointed that Free Basics will no longer be available in Egypt,” Facebook representatives commented on the situation. Nevertheless, the company hopes to "solve these problems soon." It remains unclear whether the operator, Etisalat Egypt, for its part, will block the service.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously tried to clarify that Free Basics does not violate what Zuckerberg himself believes is net neutrality. According to the founder of the popular social network, the service does not violate the rules of the open Internet, as it gives free access to certain websites, and does not charge various fees for viewing them.
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“Instead of happily accepting Free Basics as an open platform that can partner with any telecommunications company and allow any developer to offer their services to people for free, they argue, guided by false principles, that this will limit people's choices,” said Zuckerberg, when last week the service was closed in India. “Instead of recognizing that Free Basics fully respects network neutrality, they argue the opposite, guided by false principles.”