&gt;  This controversy is similar to the Internet.org debate in India.<p>The difference with Internet.org (&quot;Free Basics&quot;) is that, in India, it&#x27;s very easy to show Free Basics as a move by a foreign country to essentially &quot;buy&quot; India&#x27;s poor and rural citizens citizens (and therefore, its sovereignty). Given the particular history of India&#x27;s colonization under British rule, this is a message that resonates very well, which is why advocacy groups have been very successful in garnering opposition to Free Basics. Those who remember colonial rule in India or the decades following are not exactly thrilled about the idea of signing over their rights or power to a foreign corporate entity.<p>That experience is different in the US, so its reception hasn&#x27;t seen the same level of opposition here as it does in India.