DPP Hearing: Facebook and Bell defend zero-rated content offerings

GATINEAU – Social media giant Facebook took the stand in the CRTC’s differential pricing practices (DPP) hearing on Tuesday and argued that zero-rated services don’t need to be anti-competitive and can be constructed to meet net neutrality rules.Blair Levin, an advisor to Facebook, said under questioning that zero-rated services such as the company’s Free Basics offering (which has faced scrutiny around the world) don’t run amok of net neutrality because ISPs are prevented from acting as content gatekeepers.“When companies use their position as the gatekeeper to essentially favour one kind of content or another, then you have a net neutrality...