From: "Subbiah Arunachalam"
Date: Fri, May 8, 2015 4:47 am
https://pad.riseup.net/p/internet-dot-org-net-neutrality
*An Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg Regarding Internet.org, Net Neutrality,
Privacy, and Security*
[If you have comments, please add them below the letter]
We, the undersigned, a coalition XXX organizations from around the world,
share a common concern about the launch and expansion of Facebookâs
Internet.org platform and its implications for the open internet around
the world. It is our belief that Facebook is improperly defining Net
Neutrality in public statements and building a walled-garden where the
world's poorest people can only access a limited set of insecure websites
and services. Further,we are deeply concerned that Internet.org has been
misleadingly marketed as providing access to the internet, when in fact it
only provides access to a limited number of internet-connected services.
In addition, in its present conception, Internet.org not only violates
fundamental principles of Net Neutrality, but also threatens freedom of
expression, security, privacy, and innovation.
Net Neutrality supports freedom of expression by enabling people to seek,
receive, and impart information. It requires that the internet be
maintained as an open platform on which network providers treat all
content, applications, and services equally, without discrimination. An
important aspect of Net Neutrality states that everyone should be able to
innovate without permission from anyone or any entity.
This includes prohibiting positive discrimination, which covers price
differentiation schemes like zero rating.
Zero rating is the practice by service providers of offering a specific set
of services or applications that do not count against data caps. These
practices are inherently discriminatory and do not treat all content or
applications equally which is why they have been banned in countries such
as the Netherlands and Chile. Zero rating agreements endanger freedom of
expression by letting service providers decide which services will be
privileged over others, thus interfering with the free flow of information
over networks. Zero rating is currently Internet.org's basic model:
Facebook is partnering with ISPs around the world to offer access to certain
applications to users at no cost.
In a May 4 video, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced new rules
pertaining to Internet.org and argued that Net Neutrality and Internet.org
are not in conflict. However, on the accompanying website, the new rules
explicitly state that âwebsites must be properly integrated with
Internet.org to allow zero rating.
Internet.org misleadingly labels these zero-rated applications the
âinternet,â when in fact the applications only offer access to a tiny
portion of it. The project acts as a "walled garden" in which some services
are favored over others â again, a violation of Net Neutrality.
The project raises other freedom of expression risks. The censorship
capability of internet gateways is well established -- governments often go
to ISPs to block access to certain sites or services. Facebook appears to
be putting itself in a similar position, where governments could pressure
the company to block certain content, or even, if users must log in for
access, block individual users. The company should not take on this added
responsibility and risk by creating a single chokepoint for the free flow
of information.
We are also deeply concerned about the privacy implications of
Internet.org. Facebookâs privacy policy does not provide adequate
protections for new users to the internet. Given the lack of statements to
the contrary, it is likely Internet.org collects data by its users when
they utilize the apps and services that are part of the program, and there
is a lack of transparency about how that data is used by Internet.org and
its telco partners. Internet.org also concentrates internet usage in a
handful of applications and services, making it easier for governments and
malicious actors to surveil user traffic.
Finally, the current implementation of Internet.org threatens the security
of users. The May 4 update to the program prohibits the use of TLS
(Transport Layer Security), Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or HTTPS encryption
by participating services. This inherently puts users at risk, because
their web traffic will be vulnerable to malicious attacks and, potentially,
government eavesdropping.
We urge Facebook to assert its support for a true definition of Net
Neutrality in which ALL applications and services are treated equally and
without discrimination â especially in the developing world, where the
next three billion Internet users are coming online â and to address the
significant privacy and security flaws inherent in the current iteration of
Internet.org.
Facebook should strongly support and advocate for safeguarding the
principle of Net Neutrality and other user rights in its discussions with
national governments and regulators, while also applying these standards to
its business initiatives.
Signed,
--
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