Mark Zuckerberg’s contentious Internet.org app for web and mobile is getting a makeover. Facebook, which is working to provide Internet access to far-flung corners of the globe, is changing the name of its apps to Free Basics.
The new name, as the Wall Street Journal points out, comes as critics in India and other countries have argued that Internet.org misrepresented itself — making users think they were getting the Internet when they were receiving a limited Internet experience.
“We want to make it clear that the apps you can use through Internet.org are free, basic services that can give you access to essential resources like BabyCenter,” Zuck wrote in a Facebook post, referring to a community for advice and support on pregnancy and parenting.
“Over the past few months, developers have adapted their services specifically for the Internet.org Platform requirements, and today, more than 60 new services are available across the 19 countries where free basic services are available,” Facebook added in an official announcement. “Not only does this expand the range of resources available to people, it gives them more choice and control over the services they can use in the app and website.”
The Free Basics platform offers low bandwidth mobile apps and websites aimed at providing internet access to developing countries like India, Colombia, Nigeria, and others. Zuckerberg has previously stated that he believes internet access should be available to everyone, and has even compared basic internet access to essential services like 911.
“Even if you haven’t paid for a phone plan, you can always dial 911, and if there is a crime or a health emergency or a fire, you get basic help,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this year. “We think there should be an equivalent of this for the internet as well — where even if you haven’t paid for a data plan, you can get access to basic health information or education or job tools or basic communication tools, and it will vary, country by country.”
The social media giant has several programs working to make Zuckerberg’s dream a reality by researching technologies that can provide connectivity to remote locations, including long-endurance drones and laser communications.
