Facebook's all-seeing-all-staring CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the new Internet.org Platform, which shows developers how to create pages accessible to users of the free Internet service Internet.org. A noble sounding effort to be sure, but given that it is a Facebook led initiative, perhaps, just maybe, Zuck's platform warrants closer inspection...
Does the new platform allow users to view pages utilizing JavaScript or secure web (HTTPS) encryption? Sorry, no modern webpages allowed. So in essence, until large numbers of nostalgic web developers rush to create scads of 90's style GeoCities pages, as a "platform" Internet.org sounds pretty much useless. That is, unless you want to use it to access Facebook.
Speaking of useless...perhaps a kind blogger could mention to Zuck someone that Internet.org's Technical Guidelines page breaks the rules laid out on Internet.org's Technical Guidelines page.
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers aren't falling for it anymore.
Today's humble blogwatcher is .
Adam Clark Estes feels chilled to the bone:
In [his video announcement]...Mark Zuckerberg's eyes beam straight through your soul, while he tells you dryly how Facebook is going to fix the internet. "Facebook is watching you..." his eyes say silently. Internet.org, it turns out, is a privacy nightmare. MORE
An unnamed BBC blogger prefers some sites over others:
Facebook says it will allow more websites and other online services to join its "free mobile data" Internet.org scheme.
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The announcement follows a backlash against the initiative.
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Opponents suggest it compromises the principles of net neutrality, because it [favors] access to some sites and apps over others.
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But Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg said it was "not sustainable to offer the whole internet for free." MORE
Shaun Nichols sounds nice (at first): [You're fired -Ed.]
[Internet.org] sounds nice, but as many have complained, it is a touch anticompetitive, and runs roughshod over the principle of net neutrality –- a principle Facebook fully backed last May.
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A web startup in India that isn't on the Internet.org list will have little to no hope of getting off the ground against a rival that is, for example. MORE
Straight from the creepy, non-blinking horse's mouth:
Today, we're introducing the Internet.org Platform, an open program for developers to easily create services that integrate with Internet.org. We're also giving people more choice over the free basic services they can use. MORE
Lily Hay Newman debates net neutrality:
Debate over net neutrality has raged in the United States for years, but the controversy isn't just for developed countries. In countries like India, where Facebook has been offering its free Internet.org service...net neutrality has come up in a new way.
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In mid-April, Indian publishers started criticizing Internet.org for limiting the parts of the Internet that its users could access. MORE
Meanwhile, Frederic Jacobs does everyone a favor:
I asked Mark Zuckerberg about why SSL was not supported on Internet.org. Here is his reply. MORE
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