Facebook working with UN to bring Internet access to refugee camps

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke at the UN on Saturday about Internet connectivity. The UN's webcast

Facebook is working with the United Nations to let refugees from the Syrian civil war access the Internet so they can more easily communicate as they seek resettlement.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's co-founder and CEO, said access to the Net is key to increasing quality of life. The Internet connections being offered to refugees will help them get better support from the aid community and maintain links to family and loved ones, he said in a speech to the UN on Saturday. The Internet not only helps people communicate, it can also help lift them out of poverty, he added, pledging that Facebook would continue its efforts in impoverished and developing countries.

"The Internet is more than just a network of machines, it is the key driver of social and economic progress in our time," Zuckerberg said. "A like or a post won't stop a tank or a bullet, but when people are connected, we have the chance to build a common global community with a shared understanding."

Zuckerberg's pledge marks the latest move by Facebook, Google and other tech giants to expand connectivity across the globe. If they succeed, many billions more people could use their services, helping to achieve Facebook's stated goal of connecting everyone and Google's of organizing the world's information.

Bringing Internet access to refugee camps is just one way to make this happen. Facebook has also been building satellites and aircraft that can beam Internet connections to remote villages and towns. Google has built similar technologies using high-altitude balloons.

Critics of these efforts say the companies stand to benefit from expanding pools of people using their services, which primarily make money from advertising. Others complain the companies are also trying to create de facto monopolies on Internet access.

In India, for example, Facebook has encountered a backlash to Internet.org, a nonprofit that works with governments and telecommunications companies to offer limited Internet access in developing countries for free. Often, this comes in the form of access to several apps and websites, with opportunities for users to pay for access to more.

After Internet.org launched in India in February, several Internet companies withdrew from the effort, complaining that Facebook wasn't letting users access the whole Internet through its free service. Zuckerberg has defended Internet.org, and will be holding a town hall-style discussion with Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, this Sunday.

Zuckerberg has said that even basic Internet access can change lives. He's relayed stories of farmers who use the Internet for the first time to check crop prices and of families who are better able to care for themselves with access to health information. At the UN, he cited research saying that for every 10 people who gain access to the internet, 1 person is lifted out of poverty.

In his speech, Zuckerberg said 140 million new jobs can be created by expanding Internet access, lifting 160 million people out of poverty. "Access to the Internet is a fundamental challenge of our time," he said. "This is an opportunity available to all nations today."

Source :CNET