After facing Internet outrage for making an provocative tweet on India, Facebook director and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen apologised for “any offense caused”. In response to India’s ban on Free Basics, Andreessen on Wednesday had tweeted, “Anti-colonialism has been economically catastrophic for the Indian people for decades. Why stop now.” He later deleted the tweet and said he was removing himself from further discussions on the topic.

During the exchange on Twitter, he also said India’s growth rate had declined post independence and blamed it on the country’s “anti-colonial” policies. Andreessen added that "Denying world’s poorest free partial Internet connectivity when today they have none, for ideological reasons, strikes me as morally wrong".

In a post, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said he was “deeply upset” by Andreessen’s remarks and that his views did not represent those of Facebook’s. Earlier in the week, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said internet providers could not charge discriminatory tariffs for data services based on content, effectively banning Facebook’s Free Basics programme in the country. The TRAI ruling allows for all websites to be equally accessible for Indians. Free Basics offers limited access to the Internet for free. The programme is running in a few other countries including Kenya and Zambia, but India has a much larger population that uses the Internet.