[sdnog] Net Neutrality in Sudan

[Philip Paeps]

On 2017-12-07 04:25:47 (+0100), Samir Abdullatif wrote:
> as you know, a big operator in Sudan recently announced free access 
> through its network to Facebook

This is a terrible idea.  Facebook is not an essential service.  There 
is absolutely no reason to provide access to it for free.

> although that from the end-user perspective this might be a good thing 
> for them

No it's not.  Why is it a good thing to give an advertising company free 
access to people's personal information?

> it' our job to spoil this for them 😊 and inform them why this might 
> not be a good idea.

"Facebook is not free.  You pay for their advertising services with your 
personal data.  This is a lot more valuable than your money.  It's a lot 
easier to replace money you give to someone than it is to replace 
personal data you give to someone".

> I'm not sure if we have explicit Net Neutrality laws in Sudan, but I 
> think it's something worth discussing because although it might seem 
> harmless, it can lead to more drastic steps in the future.

This is not harmless by any stretch of the imagination.

Making some data on the internet cheaper than other data is a terrible 
idea.

Philip

-- 
Philip Paeps
Senior Reality Engineer
Ministry of Information