Meta (formerly Facebook) launched a program to provide free internet access to people in developing countries who might not otherwise afford connectivity. While the initiative aimed to expand access, documents obtained by whistleblower Francis Haugen and published by The Wall Street Journal reveal that the service sometimes ended up costing users money.
Meta benefits when more people are online and using its services, so the effort to connect new users is not purely charitable. According to internal reports, a software bug caused paid features—such as video content—to appear within the Free Basics service. Those premium items were meant to be hidden or to display clear warnings before users could incur charges, but in some cases they did not, leading subscribers to be billed unexpectedly.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the company is aware of the issue and is working to correct the software flaws. The company says it has updated the Free Basics interface to make clearer that text-based content does not carry a cost, rather than suggesting that the service can never lead to charges. Meta also stated it has addressed most of the problems with reminders that should warn users about potential fees and is continuing to work with partners to ensure accurate, transparent billing.
“The issue identified in the internal report that affected some of those reminders has largely been addressed. We’ll continue to work with our partners to meet our obligations to these users and ensure accurate and transparent data charges.”
Any mobile operator can participate in Free Basics, and Meta’s internal figures suggest the bug had a significant financial impact. The company estimated that carriers charged Free Basics users roughly $7.8 million per month as of last summer. Pakistan was reportedly the most affected country, with around $1.9 million in charges, and roughly two dozen other nations experienced similar issues.
India avoided these problems after banning the Free Basics service in 2016 on net neutrality grounds. Despite the controversy, Free Basics continued to reach a large audience: as of October of the previous year, Meta reported the service was serving more than 300 million people.
(Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash)
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