Inside the Walled Garden: Deconstructing Facebook’s Free Basics Program Rijurekha Sen , Sohaib Ahmad, Amreesh Phokeer, Zaid Ahmed Farooq, Ihsan Ayyub Qazi, David Choffnes and Krishna P. Gummadi
Facebook’s Free Basics – what is it? Image from: https://info.internet.org/en/ Zero-rated web service ofgering, hoping to bridge digital divide. 2
Facebook’s Free Basics – where is it? 63 countries in Asia, Africa, 63 countries in Asia, Africa, South and Central America. South and Central America. 3
Facebook’s Free Basics – where is it? 63 countries in Asia, Africa, 63 countries in Asia, Africa, South and Central America. South and Central America. #Internet users as % of population #Internet users as % of population International Telecommunications International Telecommunications Union (2012). Union (2012). Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? curid=19202338 4
Facebook’s Free Basics – where is it? 63 countries in Asia, Africa, 63 countries in Asia, Africa, South and Central America. South and Central America. #Internet users as % of population #Internet users as % of population International Telecommunications International Telecommunications Union (2012). Union (2012). Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php? curid=19202338 Free Basics is targeted to countries with low Internet penetration. Free Basics is targeted to countries with low Internet penetration. 5
Why deconstruct this program? 6
Why deconstruct this program? 7
& our audit questions 8
& our audit questions Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? 9
& our audit questions Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? 10
& our audit questions Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? Are the poor using this, as claimed by Facebook? Are the poor using this, as claimed by Facebook? What demographics, interests and phones do the visitors have? What demographics, interests and phones do the visitors have? 11
& our audit questions Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? Are the poor using this, as claimed by Facebook? Are the poor using this, as claimed by Facebook? What demographics and phones do the visitors have? What demographics and phones do the visitors have? Is this just a hype? Is this just a hype? What services are there? Are they growing over time? What services are there? Are they growing over time? 12
Free Basics App or Web-Service USER MOBILE
Free Basics App or Web-Service USER MOBILE 3 2 1 14
Free Basics Architecture USER MOBILE 15
Free Basics Architecture CELLULAR PROVIDER USER MOBILE FACEBOOK PROXY 16
Free Basics Architecture BBC CELLULAR PROVIDER BING USER MOBILE FACEBOOK PROXY WIKIPEDIA WEBSERVICES 17
Measurement Challenge 18
Measurement Challenge 19
Measurement Challenge Measurement needs to be in specifjc countries, Measurement needs to be in specifjc countries, with particular cellular connections. with particular cellular connections. 20
Measurement Methodologies BBC CELLULAR PROVIDER BING USER MOBILE FACEBOOK PROXY WIKIPEDIA ● Host web services on MPI server and AWS ● Make these services part of Free Basics WEBSERVICES 21
& our audit questions Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? Doesn't this give Facebook censorship rights? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? How does Facebook's gatekeeping for Free Basics services work? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Won't non-free services be at an economic disadvantage? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Does this net-nutrality question need more nuance? Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” Should we ask the question: “Free, but at what cost?” How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? How is network QoS for the free services, compared to non-free? Are the poor using this, as claimed by Facebook? Are the poor using this, as claimed by Facebook? What demographics, interests and phones do the visitors have? What demographics, interests and phones do the visitors have? Is this just a hype? Is this just a hype? What services are there? Are they growing over time? What services are there? Are they growing over time? 22
Our Services Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). 23
Our Services Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). Ofgered in English since Jul 2, 2016. 24
Our Services Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). Ofgered in English since Jul 2, 2016. Ofgered in English since Sep 17, 2016, in Spanish and French since Dec 16, 2016. 25
Our Services Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). Took 1-2 weeks from application to going live, feedback was all technical (remove Javascript). Ofgered in English since Jul 2, 2016. Ofgered in English since Sep 17, 2016, in Spanish and French since Dec 16, 2016. Learn Basics has static content, suitable for repeatable networking experiments. Learn Basics has static content, suitable for repeatable networking experiments. Bugle News is dynamic, with potential to attract more users. That is suitable for user analysis. Bugle News is dynamic, with potential to attract more users. That is suitable for user analysis. 26
Measurement Methodologies ● Controlled experiments with collaborators BBC CELLULAR PROVIDER BING USER MOBILE FACEBOOK PROXY WIKIPEDIA ● Host web services on MPI server and AWS ● Make these services part of Free Basics WEBSERVICES 27
Measurement Methodologies ● Controlled experiments with collaborators ● Participant recruitment in 15 countries BBC ● Android app to crawl Free Basics webpage ● Collection of service lists across months CELLULAR PROVIDER BING USER MOBILE FACEBOOK PROXY WIKIPEDIA ● Host web services on MPI server and AWS ● Make these services part of Free Basics WEBSERVICES 28
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