From: "Subbiah Arunachalam" <subbiah.arunachalam@gmail.com> 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 Facebook’s 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 “websites must be properly integrated with Internet.org to allow zero rating. Internet.org misleadingly labels these zero-rated applications the “internet,” 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 — 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. Facebook’s 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 — especially in the developing world, where the next three billion Internet users are coming online — 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, -- P +91-832-2409490 M 9822122436 Twitter: @fn Facebook: fredericknoronha Goa,1556 Shared Content at archive.org https://archive.org/details/goa1556 _