Mark Zuckerberg Publicly Slates Facebook Funder For His ‘Deeply Upsetting’ Comments On India

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has publicly criticised a company board member for his ‘deeply upsetting’ comments on the history of India’s colonialism. Board member Marc Andreessen caused controversy on Twitter yesterday when he tweeted about India’s decision to block Facebook’s ‘Free Basics’ service – which offers limited internet access to poor people in developing countries. Labelling the decision “morally wrong”, Andreessen claimed the decision was made by Indian “anti-colonialism,” which he said “has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades.” While the Indian telecoms regulator blocked the service over concerns of net neutrality, many Twitter users from India criticised the board member for his comments. Andreessen deleted his tweet, and later offered an apology, tweeting:

2/To be clear, I am 100% opposed to colonialism, and 100% in favor of independence and freedom, in every country, including India.

— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 11, 2016

3/I am a huge admirer of the nation of India and the Indian people, who have been nothing but kind and generous to me for many years. — Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 11, 2016

5/I will leave all future commentary on all of these topics to people with more knowledge and experience than me.

— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 11, 2016

Now Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has spoken out on the controversy, taking to his personal account to address his 50 million followers. With over 130 million Facebook users in India, Zuckerberg wrote: Zuckerberg has previously addressed the struggle between Facebook and Indian authorities over the Free Basics service, writing an editorial which was published in the Times of India newspaper.