Is the Facebook-led Internet.org a humanitarian effort to bring electronic connectivity to regions of the world or a business effort to gain access to those untapped markets?
Or both? And does it matter?
Evgeny Morozov, in a New York Times op-ed titled Facebook s Gateway Drug, takes issue with the tech industry s solutionism, the idea that every problem can be solved by tech.
He digs into what he sees as problems with Internet.org, the 1-year-old non-profit that aims to bring Internet access to people in the world through a mobile app. The app is free and Facebook has negotiated with telecom firms so that no data charges are applied.
Last week, Internet.org announced that it was offering free Internet access in Zambia to mobile phone subscribers. Zambians will access to Facebook as well as that of 12 other online services, as the Merc s Brandon Bailey reported.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook s CEO, wrote in a blog post that we ve already helped 3 million people access the Internet who had no access before.
But Morozov says there are key issues that people tend to gloss over:
Thus, to Silicon Valley s question of Is Internet access a human right? one could respond by turning the tables: What kind of Internet, and what kind of access ?
Facebook, because of its own long-term interest in expanding its advertising reach in the developing world, can make that Internet more accessible. But to accept its bargain is to abandon the fight to create different institutional arrangements — say, to rein in the power of telecom operators and provide cheaper, more equitable services.
Above: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ( (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
