Times Group bats for net neutrality; commits to pull out of internet.org

The media conglomerate has appealed to fellow publishers to follow suit and support net neutrality

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | April 16, 2015

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, have appealed to all publishers to jointly withdraw from internet.org.

According to a statement issued, in the case of Times 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.

A Times official said, “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 statement further said that 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 penalising a company for taking a principled stand,” it added.

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