Meta Whistleblower Reveals How A 'Low-Ranking' Indian Official Outsmarted Mark Zuckerberg And Crushed Facebook's Free Basics With One Single Click

Quick Summary:

What Happened: In "Careless People," a memoir by former Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams, the author said that the social media giant’s 2016 efforts to salvage its controversial Free Basics program in India were thwarted by a "low-ranking" official at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), according to a report by the Economic Times.

"Mark [Zuckerberg] and some of the brightest tech minds in the world devoted months to this [outreach strategy], and some low-ranking official in India outfoxed them simply by clicking an opt-out box," Wynn-Williams writes in the book.

A new memoir by a former Meta Platforms Inc.(NASDAQ:META) executive reveals how Facebook’s massive campaign to promote Free Basics in India was ultimately undone by a single click.

---

More Pictures

---

Read Quick SummarySave Time

or

Article Details

Author / Journalist: Ananya Gairola

Category: Technology

Markets: United StatesChinaIndia

Topics: Consumer Tech Benzinga neuro People In Tech Media Sarah Wynn-Williams News Benzinga Stories That Matter META Careless People Tech

Source Website Secure: Yes (HTTPS)

News Sentiment: Negative

Fact Checked: Legitimate

Article Type: News Report

Published On: 2025-03-17 @ 09:41:03 (13 hours ago)

News Timezone: GMT +8:00

News Source URL: benzinga.com

Language: English

Article Length: 540 words

Reading Time: 3 minutes read

Sentences: 25 lines

Sentence Length: 22 words per sentence (average)

Platforms: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, iOS App, Android App

Copyright Owner: © Benzinga

News ID: 27079178

View Article Analysis

About Benzinga

Main Topics: Technology

Official Website: benzinga.com

Update Frequency: 17 posts per day

Year Established: 2010

Headquarters: United States

News Last Updated: 9 hours ago

Coverage Areas: United States

Ownership: Independent Company

Publication Timezone: GMT +8:00

Content Availability: Worldwide

News Language: English

RSS Feed: Available (XML)

API Access: Available (JSON, REST)

Website Security: Secure (HTTPS)

Publisher ID: #53

Publisher Details

Frequently Asked Questions