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Facebook launches free Internet.org in Malawi

Cape Town - Social media giant Facebook has launched its free Internet.org offering in Malawi.

The social networking giant launched the offering in conjunction with the TNM and Airtel Malawi networks.

The latest launch in Malawi now means that Facebook is bringing a free and basic internet service that reaches nearly one billion people, the company has said.

"People now have access to basic internet services including tools and resources for communication, health, education and local news," Facebook said.

The project, though, has not been without controversy.

Facebook has been accused of doing exclusive deals with one network per country and controlling content on the platform.

"Internet.org is non-exclusive and is open to any operator who wants to participate. In Malawi, Internet.org launched with multiple operators," said the company.

Free internet service

In India, Internet.org has faced criticism for violating the principle of treating all web traffic equally - a key concept of net neutrality.

Because Facebook's Internet.org platform provides free access to some websites and not others, the project has been questioned for violating net neutrality.

But Facebook has hit back, saying that it was intent on connecting the world to the internet through the programme.

"Our goal with Internet.org is to help everyone connect," said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

While he argued that free internet service is critical to extending democracy and providing access to information to more people, he warned that the entire internet would not be free.

"It's not sustainable to offer the whole internet for free though. It costs tens of billions of dollars every year to run the internet and no operator could afford this if everything were free."

Facebook does not show ads on Internet.org and has advised content providers to ensure that their platforms have a low data footprint.

Watch Mark Zuckerberg explain how Internet.org expands access to the internet:

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