Less than 24 hours after the social network has accidentally asked for support from their US users for their Internet.org initiative "Free Basics" in India, Facebook got temporarily banned from the country. India's telecom regulator has asked for the temporary ban of the social media while their investigation is underway.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI is reported to have asked the only carrier that carries Free Basics within the country, which is Reliance Communications, to stop supporting the app while they determine whether the concept of net neutrality has been violated or not.

It could be recalled that the social network has been facing a suit for allegedly being biased instead of upholding net neutrality that they have promised the country's users and will be having the public hearing held by the TRAI next month.

This latest action could be a hurdle to the company's goal of being able to provide internet to anyone in the world. Free Basics is a service that allows their consumers to visit certain websites for free. There are about 30 sites that are covered by this service that includes Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Wikipedia, Bing, BBC News, AccuWeather and some Indian news sources.

This initiative of Facebook aims to provide connectivity to users and through this connectivity be able to also give their users access to healthcare and financial services. So far, Free Basics is also currently offered in the Middle East, Latin America, Asia Pacific and over a dozen African countries.

The concern of net neutrality has been a persisting issue almost ever since Free Basics was introduced in the country so the hearing was a bit foreseen by the public. Regulators in India have been reported to be pushing hard against the social media regarding this issue.

However the recent decision to ban the app could be surprising and might be a tad too big to consider. It is also the first time for a Facebook project to be banned in a country where the company has the second largest number of users outside of the US. The result of the hearing might or might not lead to something that can affect other important markets for the tech industry.

When contacted for a statement, a spokesperson for Facebook said that the company is committed to Free Basics and on working with Reliance and other relevant authorities to help Indians get connected.

Additionally, it could be recalled that earlier, WhatsApp was banned for 48 hours in Brazil, only for that ruling to be overturned a day after. Facebook can only hope that the same thing happens to their Free Basics in India.