NEW DELHI: Even as Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg voiced his disappointment on the ruling by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) against differential pricing and in favour of net neutrality, the social media giant has pulled the plug on its Free Basics offering in India.

Meanwhile, a recent tweet by Silicon Valley investor and a member of the Facebook Board Marc Andreessen, which was later deleted, had created controversy as he criticised India’s opposition to Free Basics.

Indian users of the net protested against the tweet comparing the opposition to Free Basics in India to anti-colonialism, which did not go well with them.

Later Zuckerberg had attempted to do some damage control when he put a post on his Facebook page disassociating from Andreessen’s views. He said the comment was “deeply upsetting and doesn’t represent the way Facebook or I think.”

Facebook has clearly been hit by the decision as it is a popular social media site in the country and was hoping to increase its presence by offering free access to services to the joining user.

In its ruling on differential pricing for data services, TRAI had said that it would impose a fine of Rs 50,000 per day for anyone violating the same with immediate effect.