Big Win: Times Group Commits To Withdraw From Facebook's Internet.org Initiative

After Flipkart and Cleartrip coming forward to support Net Neutrality, today Times Of India, has committed to withdraw from internet.org; and has appealed to fellow publishers to follow suit and support net neutrality.

Times Internet on its blog said,

The Times of India and its language websites like Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, Ei Samay and Nav Gujarat Samay, that have together been spearheading the movement for net-neutrality in India, appeal to all publishers to jointly withdraw from internet.org

In the case of the group’s properties such as TimesJobs and Maharashtra Times, where its competitors are not on zero-rate platforms, these properties will pull out of internet.org. As for the Times of India itself, the group commits to withdraw from internet.org if its direct competitors – India Today, NDTV, IBNLive, NewsHunt, and BBC – also pull out. The group also encourages its fellow language and English news publishers – Dainik Jagran, Aaj Tak, Amar Ujala, Maalai Malar, Reuters, and Cricinfo – to join the campaign for net neutrality and withdraw from zero rate schemes.

Says a Times official: “We support net neutrality because it creates a fair, level playing field for all companies – big and small – to produce the best service and offer it to consumers. We will lead the drive towards a neutral internet, but we need our fellow publishers and content providers to do so as well, so that the playing field continues to be level.”

The Times Group has led the fight for net neutrality and is committed to its principles. Our campaign to preserve the unfettered internet has received an overwhelming response from netizens. However, we believe that TRAI and the government must do their bit by unconditionally supporting net neutrality. This would encourage fair and meritocratic competition, rather than penalizing a company for taking a principled stand.

Looking at this, NDTV too has decided to pull out of the Internet.org initiative.

NDTV is committed to net neutrality and is therefore exiting, and will not be a part of, Facebook’s http://t.co/r3IZLs9qEJ initiative.

— Prannoy Roy (@PrannoyRoyNDTV) April 15, 2015