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https://internet-in-a-box.org/ https://internet-in-a-box.org/ might come in handy. Facebook tried the same in India but was quickly shutdown: https://www.wired

by harias 4y ago

https://internet-in-a-box.org/ https://internet-in-a-box.org/ might come in handy. Facebook tried the same in India but was quickly shutdown: https://www.wired.com/2016/02/facebooks-free-basics-app-is-now-banned-in-india/ https://www.wired.com/2016/02/facebooks-free-basics-app-is-n...

Litost 4y ago
Thanks I'd not heard of internet in a box, I love how it empowers people to determine their own requirements and solve their own issues rather than just be another excuse to form more dependencies on facebook.
lelandfe 4y ago
This stuff is such a gray area for me. I’m staunchly pro-net neutrality, but depriving people of the internet altogether means losing a huge asset for learning, a platform for financial success that otherwise is unattainable, and more. But then you read about the success of Facebook in emerging markets in Africa and it becomes even murkier. Basics has caused Facebook to become utterly dominant in many African countries[0], and that’s precisely what net neutrality tries to prevent. That’s so much power. I don’t know what the right answer is. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/20/facebook-second-life-the-unstoppable-rise-of-the-tech-company-in-africa https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/20/facebook-...
- dTal 4y ago
  Is Facebook a "huge asset for learning [and] a platform for financial success"? The utter dominance of Facebook surely prevents competitors that are better suited to these things. I am not at all sure that Facebook-only is superior to no internet at all.
  - lelandfe 4y ago
    > I am not at all sure that Facebook-only is superior to no internet at all Insofar as the short term success of their users is considered, it's an unequivocal yes. There are an unbelievable number of African businesses that exist only because of the platform. As you correctly call out, it's the longer timelines that make it a dubious proposition.

by harias 4y ago

Litost 4y ago

Thanks I'd not heard of internet in a box, I love how it empowers people to determine their own requirements and solve their own issues rather than just be another excuse to form more dependencies on facebook.

lelandfe 4y ago

This stuff is such a gray area for me. I’m staunchly pro-net neutrality, but depriving people of the internet altogether means losing a huge asset for learning, a platform for financial success that otherwise is unattainable, and more. But then you read about the success of Facebook in emerging markets in Africa and it becomes even murkier. Basics has caused Facebook to become utterly dominant in many African countries[0], and that’s precisely what net neutrality tries to prevent. That’s so much power. I don’t know what the right answer is. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/20/facebook-second-life-the-unstoppable-rise-of-the-tech-company-in-africa https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/20/facebook-...

dTal 4y ago
Is Facebook a "huge asset for learning [and] a platform for financial success"? The utter dominance of Facebook surely prevents competitors that are better suited to these things. I am not at all sure that Facebook-only is superior to no internet at all.
- lelandfe 4y ago
  > I am not at all sure that Facebook-only is superior to no internet at all Insofar as the short term success of their users is considered, it's an unequivocal yes. There are an unbelievable number of African businesses that exist only because of the platform. As you correctly call out, it's the longer timelines that make it a dubious proposition.