---
layout: default
title: "Net Advocacy Body Probing Linkages Between Telcos And Facebook's Auto-Play Video Option"
description: "A Financial Express report on the Centre for Internet and Society's investigation into whether Facebook's auto-play video feature was designed to increase data consumption and billing for telecom companies, potentially incentivizing telco participation in the Internet.org platform."
categories: [Media mentions]
date: 2015-10-28
source: "The Financial Express"
authors: ["Prabhu Mallikarjunan"]
permalink: /media/net-advocacy-body-probing-linkages-telcos-facebook-autoplay/
created: 2025-12-21
---

**Net Advocacy Body Probing Linkages Between Telcos And Facebook's Auto-Play Video Option** is a news report by Prabhu Mallikarjunan published by *The Financial Express* on 28 October 2015. The article covers the Centre for Internet and Society's announcement that it would investigate whether Facebook's auto-play video feature was strategically designed to boost telecom companies' data revenues by up to 50%, potentially creating financial incentives for telcos to support Facebook's controversial Internet.org (Free Basics) initiative.

## Contents

1. [Article Details](#article-details)  
2. [Full Text](#full-text)  
3. [Context and Background](#context-and-background)  
4. [External Link](#external-link)

## Article Details

<dl class="media-details">
  <dt>📰 Published in:</dt>
  <dd>The Financial Express</dd>

  <dt>✍️ Author:</dt>
  <dd>Prabhu Mallikarjunan</dd>

  <dt>🎤 Featured:</dt>
  <dd>Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, Centre for Internet and Society</dd>

  <dt>📅 Date:</dt>
  <dd>28 October 2015</dd>

  <dt>📄 Type:</dt>
  <dd>News report</dd>

  <dt>📰 Newspaper Link:</dt>
  <dd>
    <a class="btn" href="https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-net-advocacy-body-probing-linkages-between-telcos-and-facebooks-auto-play-video-option-157658/">Read Online</a>
  </dd>
</dl>

## Full Text

<div class="highlighted-text" id="fulltext">

<p>Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), India's leading internet advocacy body, which has often been critical of Facebook's Internet.org — now called Free Basics — initiative, has said that it is looking into the possibility of Facebook helping telecom companies through its auto-play video option.</p>

<p>In an interaction with FE on Tuesday, Sunil Abraham, executive director of The Centre for Internet and Society, said CIS will initiate research on the notion that the new video option will result in 50% increase in data billing for the telecom companies. It will also look into whether this, in turn, will encourage the telecom companies to be on the Internet.org platform.</p>

<p>This initiative from CIS comes on the eve of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's visit to India on Wednesday, where he will address a gathering at IIT, Delhi.</p>

<p>Facebook has been trying to hard sell the Free Basics concept at a time when the Indian government is looking to work closely with the internet major to push the Digital India initiative. "The company (Facebook) has done some good things, and also done some not so good things. The good thing is that, they have changed the name of the application and called it Free Basics. Also, they have re-enabled https and have published the technical requirements document, through which they have eliminated the exclusivity arm both on the telco end and for OTT (Over the top) players," Abraham said.</p>

<p>"How does FB gain from making the videos autoplay. It doesn't gain. Why should the telcos be made happy? We are looking into this theory of whether auto-play video option will result in 50% increase in data billing for the telecom companies," Abraham said.</p>

</div>

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## Context and Background

The report appeared in October 2015 during the height of India's net neutrality debate, as Facebook aggressively promoted its Internet.org platform (rebranded as Free Basics) amid mounting criticism from digital rights advocates. The controversy centered on whether providing zero-rated access to a curated set of services violated net neutrality principles by creating a two-tiered internet.

Abraham's announcement that CIS would investigate Facebook's auto-play video feature reflected suspicion about the alignment of interests between Facebook and telecom operators. Auto-play videos, which begin playing automatically as users scroll through their feeds, consume significantly more data than static content or user-initiated video playback. If this feature drove a 50% increase in data consumption as Abraham hypothesized, it would substantially boost telecom revenues at a time when mobile data was expensive and data caps common in India.

The theory Abraham articulated was that Facebook might be offering telcos a financial sweetener through increased data consumption to compensate for or incentivize their participation in Free Basics, where select content would be zero-rated (not charged against data plans). This would create a complex arrangement where telcos earned reduced or no revenue on Free Basics traffic but gained increased revenue from other Facebook usage driven by auto-play videos.

Abraham's acknowledgment that Facebook had made improvements—renaming Internet.org to Free Basics, enabling HTTPS encryption, publishing technical requirements and removing exclusivity provisions—showed CIS was tracking the platform's evolution. These changes addressed some technical and structural criticisms while the fundamental net neutrality concerns remained unresolved.

The timing of CIS's announcement on the eve of Mark Zuckerberg's visit to IIT Delhi was strategic, ensuring the issue received media attention when Facebook's CEO was in India promoting Free Basics. The investigation represented civil society's effort to scrutinize not just the explicit terms of zero-rating arrangements but also secondary mechanisms through which platform and telecom interests might align against net neutrality principles.

Abraham's observation that Facebook itself didn't gain directly from auto-play (since the company's business model relies on advertising impressions rather than data charges) was crucial to the hypothesis. It suggested auto-play might function primarily as a mechanism to benefit telcos, potentially as part of broader negotiations around Free Basics partnerships. This illustrated how net neutrality violations could operate through complex interdependencies rather than simple paid prioritization.

## External Link

- [Read on The Financial Express](https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-net-advocacy-body-probing-linkages-between-telcos-and-facebooks-auto-play-video-option-157658/)

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