Indian companies are withdrawing from Internet.org over concerns that access to some apps, and the speed of access, can be manipulated by telecoms firms, reports USA Today.
Facebook launched Internet.org in India in February, after partnering with Reliance, an Indian carrier. Free access to basic Internet services on mobile phones was available exclusively to Reliance subscribers in six states. The service allows subscribers to access a range of news publications, health, travel, sports and job information for free.
The Times Group of India stated it would withdraw publications, whose competitors are not included on the platform, from Internet.org. This includes TimesJobs and Maharashtra Times. It will also withdraw the Times of India when that publication's competitors pull out.
India-based travel Web site Cleartrip also released a statement saying: "What started off with providing a simple search service has us now concerned with influencing customer decision-making by forcing options on them, something that is against our core DNA."
Net neutrality is based on the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or Web sites.
In a blog post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg disagreed with claims that Internet.org goes against the principle of net neutrality, saying: "We want to keep the Internet open. Net neutrality ensures network operators don't discriminate by limiting access to services you want to use."
However, he said net neutrality should not be in conflict with working to get more people connected.
"To give more people access to the Internet, it is useful to offer some services for free. If someone can't afford to pay for connectivity, it is always better to have some access than none at all," he added.
Commentators on Zuckerburg's blog post said, if the founder of Facebook was really for net neutrality then he should partner with Internet service providers that gave Internet.org users a certain "cap" for free every month, thereby enabling them to choose which sites they would like to visit.
In January, Internet.org was launched in Ghana, partnering with mobile operator, Airtel, and joining other African countries, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
Internet.org is a non-profit organisation, with backers including Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Qualcomm and Opera Software. The initiative aims to make basic Internet services available to the two-thirds of the world's population not yet connected.
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