Meta Platforms Inc. addressed the issue in Facebook’s text-only version.
META — Formerly known as Facebook Inc., the social media giant said that it addressed the issue in Facebook’s text-only version, which reportedly charged users when videos and photos appeared on the said free data version.
In an emailed statement to GMA News Online, a Meta spokesperson said that the issue identified in the “internal report” that affected some of those reminders has largely been addressed.
“We’re proud of the work we do to create affordable access to data. We tell people that viewing photos and videos will result in data charges when they sign up, and we do our best to remind people that viewing them may result in data charges,” the Meta spokesperson said.
Meta’s statement stemmed from a report on Wall Street Journal that said Facebook users in developing countries such as the Philippines, Pakistan, and Indonesia had been charged by cellular service providers for accessing Facebook’s text-only version.
However, Facebook and cellular service providers had entered into partnerships that allowed data charge-free access to the platform.
Based on the report on Wall Street Journal, notifications that informed Facebook users they will be charged for viewing pictures or watching videos failed to appear because of a software glitch in the platform.
With this, the company said that it made product improvements that resolved most of the issue.
“We’ll continue to work with our partners to meet our obligations to these users and ensure accurate and transparent data charges, which we know is important to people who use these products,” said the Meta spokesperson.
Facebook’s text-only version allowed users in developing countries to access the platform without mobile data charges.
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Sought for comment, PLDT-Smart Corporate Communications head Cathy Yang told GMA News Online that the glitch has largely been addressed as confirmed by Meta.
Globe Telecom likewise said that they were recently made aware of Meta’s software glitch that affected mobile data users of Facebook’s text-only service, which led to data charges on certain users of the platform.
According to Globe Telecom, they have coordinated with Meta on the incident and they’re assured that the technical glitch had been largely addressed.
“Based on our initial assessment, there is no impact to our customers as any charges incurred outside of text-only Facebook are valid,” Globe Telecom said.
Globe Telecom also assured its customers that the telco was working closely with Meta on any further updates related to the said issue.
Moreover, Globe Telecom reminded the public that they will be charged for accessing paid content when they exceeded their mobile data allocation, especially when these were set on autoplay under their phone settings.
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