Assignment:
Issues
Facebook's the Internet.org initiative need very high costs, and also takes time for making profits.
The Internet.org initiative is a project that bringing affordable Internet services to less developed countriesfor economic betterment. Today, the two thirds of global population still do not have net connectivity (PC1-2). This initiative is taking effect in Philippines, Zambia, Rwanda, Paraguay, Tanzania, India, Indonesia and other developing countries, and it improves infrastructures as well(PC1-1). Facebook expects that bringing basic Internet facilities to those countries have opportunities growing the users and economy in the future. However, different countries need different technologies, which can fit different regions, platforms, and environments (PC1-3). Facebook requires working together with global companies to overcome the barriers of companies.
Even though the initiative might be going to connect to Facebook's futurerevenues, it is huge investments for the companies, and at the same time it takes long times to produce the results. In fact, Facebook has invested $1 billion into accessibility initiatives over the last few years (Tech Crunch). In the contemporary business environment, variable and unsteady condition causes strong anxiety.
Issue2- Criticisms about the initiative via the Internet News articles and blogs might keep on a string.
On the Internet, many criticisms were raised againstthe CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg's statement about the Internet.org. He described the initiative as non-profit and humanitarian aid activity(PC1.4). Therefore, some Internet contributors misunderstood and stated that the initiative is a non-profit project on its sites, so wrong information spread on the Internet. The Internet.org is one of the huge investments of Facebook that provide Internet accessibility to less developed country to increase the company's users and it becomes profitable in the long run (PC1.4). Therefore, critics claimed that the initiative was venture humanitarianism and Facebook's gateway drug (PC1.4). People who do not know much about the initiative spread the rumor more and more.
In addition, critics claimed that the initiative violates the principle of net neutrality. The Internet.org provides a free Internet accessibility for the developing countries to allow access the social networking services and other services, such as education, health care, and local news, and also it levies different charges for various apps (PC1-5). Therefore, the initiative has limited access to the information, because the different price plans change the access to different websites and get different information. In fact, the Bloomberg Technology remarked that the Internet.org violated Internet rules, and criticize what the Internet site should be (Bloomberg).
Bibliography
https://techcrunch.com/2013/08/20/facebook-internet-org/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-28/zuckerberg-makes-personal-appeal-in-india-for-free-net-serviceAnnette Williams
1/25/2017
Case: Facebook's Internet.org Initiative: Serving the Bottom of the Pyramid?
Summary
"The goal of Internet.org is to make Internet access available to the two thirds of the world who are not yet connected, and to bring the same opportunities to everyone that the connected third of the world has today." (e-text PC1-1) And Internet.org wants to make the internet available to everyone on earth. The goal is to have users access low-data versions of Facebook that includes the Messenger service also. The down side is that users can only access certain websites for free and if they want to go outside those websites users will be charged a fee. By starting up this initiative in third world countries, Internet.org and its business associates believe that if everyone is connected they would be able to have information that would lead to a healthier lifestyle, creating nearly 140 million jobs and uplifting 160 million people out of poverty.
Countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Africa are now experiencing the improved network and app performance from Internet.org. These services were free of cost and would have access to basic internet information like the News and Accu-Weather reports. While Internet.org does not appear to violate net neutrality laws in the countries stated in the beginning of this paragraph, analysts' states that the company wants to be seen as encouraging the open and free use of the Internet, not just providing a small slice of the world wide web.
CEO, Mar Zuckerberg said, "that the goal of the Internet.org initiative was to offer credit and identity infrastructure in developing countries that is still nascent in many developing countries. "(e-text PC1-1)
Critics of Internet.org also questioned Zuckerberg's lofty vision of "connectivity is a human right" because it provided free access for some basic contents while holding the robust content for a price. (e-text PC1-1) "It was demonstrated by the World Bank that in the name of development many technological companies made money through people who were at the bottom of the pyramid and, invariably, they became the losers." (e-text PC1-1)
"So far, Internet.org has done nothing for Facebook's bottom line. However, that could change in the future-the very distant future. Zuckerberg has said that the initiative wasn't conceived as a money-maker for Facebook, but that it could have some benefits down the road." (Brodbeck, 2015)