 | This article needs to be updated.(November 2019) |
Google Free Zone was a global initiative undertaken by the Internet company Google in collaboration with mobile phone-based Internet providers, whereby the providers waive data (bandwidth) charges (also known as zero-rate ) for accessing select Google products such as Google Search, Gmail, and Google+. [1] In order to use this service, users were required to have a Google account and a phone that had access to an internet connection. [2]
A number of Internet commentators viewed Google Free Zone as both inspired by and a potential competitor to Facebook Zero. [15] [16] [17] [18]
The Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones of Chile ruled that Zero-rating services like Wikipedia Zero, Facebook Zero, and Google Free Zone, that subsidize mobile data usage, violate net neutrality laws and that the practice had to end by June 1, 2014. [19] [20]
In addition to regulatory concerns, digital rights advocates also expressed caution about zero‑rating practices. For example, the Electronic Frontier Foundation noted that such programs, though they increase access, "ultimately zero‑rated services are a dangerous compromise" because they create uneven access to information and may distort user behavior. [21]
