&gt; anti-free-basics mindset<p>Ahh, the usual attempt to create factions.<p>&gt; Facebook isn&#x27;t stopping anyone from providing internet access anywhere.<p>The very idea of &quot;free basics&quot; is about normalizing the idea that Facebook can prevent who people can access. Yes, other providers already exist (removing any <i>need</i> for &quot;free basics&quot;), which is why Facebook is abusing their position as a social network to manipulate people into supporting their plan.<p>They can do this because being a gatekeeper of social interaction is one of the most powerful political tools known to man.<p>&gt; And they certainly don&#x27;t gain this power by providing free basics.<p>If you read any of the other threads on this topic, you will find examples Facebook&#x27;s tactics such as lying to users saying their friends support &quot;free basics&quot;. That is their <i>existing</i> power as a social gatekeeper. The entire point of this new plan is to extend their gatekeeper position into one of the largest untapped markets on the planet.<p>Without even considering how this position would allow Facebook to monopolize the market, their power as a gatekeeper to monitor social interaction (why do you think they MitM encryption?) and manipulate public opinion is so powerful it should be seen as a <i>threat to national sovereignty</i>. You probably think this is hyperbole, but I&#x27;m deadly serious. As I mentioned in a previous thread, the end game of this <i>power to use friends against each other</i> already exists in China under the name Sesame Credit. I recommend watching this short video[1] about it by Extra Credits. Their perspective as game designers about how people can be manipulated with the mechanics of a platform is key to understanding how these new powers work.<p>&gt; anti free basics arguments are rather sloppy.<p>(minor suggestion: it&#x27;s customary to note when you edit a post)<p>It only looks sloppy if you only focus on the narrow framing Facebook is pushing in their propaganda. If you consider the last few hundred years of history and the recent-ish trends in political and social power, Facebook&#x27;s power grab is obvious.<p>One of the problems with your analysis, I suspect, is that you seem to be assuming that some sort of market solution will sort itself out. This is an obvious fallacy: &quot;the market will fix things&quot; is not a law of nature, people are not in any way &quot;rational&quot; in the way economists use the term (&quot;homo economicus&quot; doesn&#x27;t exist), and the very idea of a market only works <i>if-and-only-if</i> consumers have accurate information, which is exactly what Facebook is manipulating.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=lHcTKWiZ8sI" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=lHcTKWiZ8sI</a>