The social network has confirmed to TechCrunch that Free Basics ended in Myanmar in September 2017, which was also when reports came out that it was censoring information related to ethnic cleansing. A spokesperson told the publication, however, that its shutdown was a result of a broader regulatory effort. Myanmar's government and the state-owned telecom (Myanma Posts and Telecommunications) that Facebook teamed up with to provide free access to the social network apparently worked together to cut off access to all free services.

Myanmar isn't the country that recently lost access to Free Basics, though. The Outline says it's also no longer available in Bolivia, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Congo, Anguilla, El Salvador, Saint Lucia and other Latin American markets. Facebook told TechCrunch that Free Basics shut down in those locations due to commercial reasons and not due to anything the company did.

It's worth noting, however, that the service itself is pretty problematic. Since Facebook rolled it out in developing nations, where mobile internet isn't always available and affordable, it has become the internet itself for a lot of people. Problem is, fake news is abundant on the website. As a result, it plays a major role in the spread of misinformation in many places around the globe, which is something it's trying to combat with new features. As TC noted, though, Facebook continues to expand the service's reach despite its issues, launching it in Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire and Cameroon in recent months.

Update: A Facebook spokesperson told Engadget: