Free Basics is proof that the web needs the third world to grow

Last week, there was a big ruckus on Twitter about the Silicon Valley, India and colonialism. Yes, that is right. Colonialism was the centre of it all in a debate about a few web services in the 21st century.

On February 15, India decided on net neutrality rules and came up with a policy that outlaws programmes like Facebook's Free Basics. While a number of people cheered India's decision, many didn't like it. Among those who do not is Marc Andreessen, a celebrated venture capitalist who also sits on Facebook's board. In one of his tweets - later deleted - Andreessen implied, most likely as a retort to people who see programmes like Free Basics as a sort of virtual colonialism, that India has been hurt by its "anti-colonialism".

That opened up a Pandora's box. It also brought to the fore a not-so-comfortable side of the inexorable march of technology led by Silicon Valley companies. The parallels that many draw between today's technology giants and old private companies, which fanned across the new land in the 18th and 19th centuries exploiting resources, do not seem apt. But it is a fact that growth for the big web firms is tapering off in the developed world and that they need masses from the third world to grow.

That is why there is this talk of bringing the next billion users online. It was around three years ago when IBM CEO Ginni Rometty said that "data is the natural resource of 21st century". But it is only now we are seeing what it means. For the technology companies, which are among the most profitable companies ever, data is at the centre of it all. It is the data that brings them money. And in most cases, it is very cheap. Google uses the data it collects from its users in myriad ways, as does Facebook. Companies like Uber and Ola, which do not run a single cab, or Airbnb, which doesn't own a single hotel, have valuations in billions of dollars because they have the relevant data.

In 21st century, if you have data, you can make money. This is the reason why countries like India, with over a billion people population, are a big pull for the Silicon Valley. In the developed world, people are already connected to the web. They are already the consumers - sort raw material or the natural resource - that have now been converted into data that web companies can sell to advertisers. But that data has now been used. Products and services have been created using it, advertisements have been served. For the growth, more data is needed and that is in countries where internet connectivity is still low.

For a big tech firm, everyone who is not connected to a web is akin to an untapped resource. That is why there is a push to improve connectivity across the world, a push led by big Silicon valley firms. There is nothing sinister about it. The improved connectivity has its own advantages. But the key bit to remember is what the people, who are going to hand over their data to the technology firms, are going to get in return. If it is a fair trade, it is fair. If it is not, may be regulators will have to step in to regulate it just the way they handle other natural resources.