Facebook sparked controversy this week, after a key board member Marc Andreessen linked India’s rejection of its free mobile service with ‘anti-colonialism’.
In a tweet, Andreesen claimed that India’s valuation of net neutralitywas part of an “anti-colonialism” mindset that had hindered the country “for decades” after it declared independence in 1947.
The offensive implication was that the country should revert back to the days of British colonial rule and accept outside influence.
Marc Andreessen made an impressively bad tweet https://t.co/xBEdPov7nQ pic.twitter.com/oowRyoy0Xd
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) February 10, 2016
Many Twitter users, from India and elsewhere, criticised Andreessen for his comments.
The offending tweet was quickly deleted and Andreessen issued an apology, in which he claimed he is a “huge admirer of the nation of India and the Indian people,” and saying in future he would leave commentary on these kinds of topics “to people with more knowledge and experience than me.”
1/Last night on Twitter, I made an ill-informed and ill-advised comment about Indian politics and economics.
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 11, 2016
In a Facebook post, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has chastised Andreessen for the comments, saying he finds the idea “deeply unsettling”.
“Facebook stands for helping to connect people and giving them voice to shape their own future,” Zuckerberg wrote on Wednesday.
View the full post below:
I want to respond to Marc Andreessen's comments about India yesterday. I found the comments deeply upsetting, and they…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, 10 February 2016