Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is looking to transform the undeveloped regions of the world, with one “Like” and Samsung Galaxy 4 at a time.
Zuckerberg recently announced that the company has partnered with technology giants Samsung, Nokia, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Opera Software and Mediatek to bring smartphones, laptops and Internet connection to the world through an initiative called internet.org.
The site claims that two-thirds of the world has little to no access to the internet. The partnering corporations will work to decrease data prices, establish bandwidth and encourage business connections in virtually isolated or impoverished nations.
“(United States citizens) use things like Facebook to share news and catch up with our friends, but they are going to use it to decide what type of government that they want, to get access to healthcare for the first time ever and to connect with family hundred of miles away that they haven’t seen in decades,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with CNN.
So far the project has made reputable strides in Brazil, Africa and India, but is targeting the 5 billion unconnected citizens of the globe.
Internet access is not only an economic barrier, but also a political obstacle formed by governments that enforce strict censorship laws or impose high prices and taxes to make connection unaffordable.
In 2012 the United Nations declared Internet connectivity a human right. The decision was finalized with the understanding that rights enforced offline should be protected online.
China, which has a history of enforcing strict censorship, showed full support for the declaration.
Every measure political leaders take to create a more Internet-friendly planet makes it easier for corporate projects like internet.org and Google’s Project Loon, which aims to connect the world using Internet-providing balloons, to make a difference.
Internet.org and Project Loon are going beyond feeding the needy and dishing out pills. In response, these initiatives have received criticism for absurd reasons, including from billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates.
“When you’re dying of malaria, I suppose you’ll look up and see that balloon, and I’m not sure how it’ll help you. When a kid gets diarrhea, no, there’s no website that relieves that,” Gates said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.
Fresh water and medicine are necessities in third-world countries, but providing these necessities are only the first step in saving a struggling nation.
There needs to be a platform for providing knowledge and education, or poverty and disease will always be a problem. A laptop can’t cure diarrhea, but WebMD.com can guide a mother living in Sierra Leone in treating her child.
Google and internet.org are broadening our understanding of philanthropy. Corporate and private donors can no longer seek to satisfy physical needs, but also the universal need to connect and grow.
Opinion columnist Ciara Rouege is a print journalism senior and may be reached at [email protected]
