Meta Adds New Business Features To WhatsApp, Reviving Net Neutrality Debate
At a recent event in Mumbai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled significant upcoming features for business messaging on WhatsApp. One of these features, called “Flows,” will allow businesses to offer various services directly within WhatsApp chats. For instance, banks can enable customers to book appointments to open accounts, food delivery services can facilitate orders from partner restaurants, and airlines can enable flight check-ins—all without users leaving the chat thread.
This move aims to transform WhatsApp into a comprehensive commerce channel for businesses, particularly benefiting smaller enterprises by potentially replacing the need for separate websites. While WhatsApp is already a primary platform for many businesses, these features aim to streamline operations further. In addition to Flows, WhatsApp will introduce various payment methods on its platform, including UPI apps, credit/debit cards, and net banking. Razorpay and PayU are the initial payment partners supporting this feature.
Meta is also introducing its paid verification program called “Meta Verified” in India. This program will provide verified badges to authenticate businesses, helping customers identify trusted firms. These announcements signal WhatsApp”s commitment to enhancing business capabilities and revenue diversification for Meta. While these features offer convenience to users, there may be concerns about potential clutter within the app”s interface, a challenge that Meta has faced in the past. Nevertheless, Meta”s recent developments have given Indian internet businesses much to consider.
On a different note, there is a growing debate concerning net neutrality in India. Major telecom companies, including Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, are advocating for over-the-top service providers (such as Meta and Google) to pay fees to compensate for using telecom networks” infrastructure. They argue that these services generate revenue while relying on the telcos” infrastructure.
However, online service providers argue that they invest in infrastructure too, and their growth contributes to increased demand for internet access, benefiting telecom companies. This debate plays out at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and has implications for the future of net neutrality in the country. If online services were required to pay fees to telecom companies, this could lead to higher costs for users and distort competition. Smaller players unable to afford such fees might suffer or even shut down. Therefore, many organisations and think tanks in India have opposed the idea, emphasising that online services are already regulated under existing laws.
In contrast to India, countries like the US, the UK, South Africa, and Brazil have no regulations requiring online service providers to pay fees to telecom companies. The European Union has separate regulations for online services and telecom firms, rather than the “same service, same rules” approach. Currently, the Indian government appears hesitant to support telecom companies” demands, and the fate of online service regulation remains uncertain. The public consultation on the TRAI paper will conclude on September 29, and the telecom bill may be presented in Parliament in the winter session or even in the following year. For now, the situation appears unfavorable for India”s telecom giants.
