Programs like Internet.org are important and can co-exist with net neutrality

Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg took to his own home-grown social network and held an open Q&A, calling the public to ask any question which they have on their mind. At this point, the crucial topic which is doing the round is the discussion around Net Neutrality, and of course, many people were inquisitive to know what his thoughts were on the issue.

Certain discussions regarding Facebook’s Internet.org also came up along with a variety of questions and suggestions. Let’s take a look at a few things what the man had to say.

Probably, one of the most important and prominent question asked to Facebook’s CEO was his opinion on the Net Neutrality implications of Internet.org providing free access to only a select few “basic Internet services” in the developing world, while other services require a data plan. The curiosity continued when he was also asked how Facebook/Internet.org is in the position to choose what services are free.

To this query, Zukerberg replied: “I think net neutrality is important to make sure network operators don’t discriminate and limit access to services people want to use, especially in countries where most people are online.”

He further added, “For people who are not on the internet though, having some connectivity and some ability to share is always much better than having no ability to connect and share at all.”

In the end, he pointed out that programs like Internet.org are important and can co-exist with net neutrality regulations.

Many other questions revolved around people inquisitively asking as to when Internet.org will reach their country. His response was, “Yes, we want to bring Internet.org everyone where there are people who need to be connected. We’re starting off by prioritizing the countries with the most unconnected people and by working with network operators and governments who are most excited about working with Internet.org to get everyone online in their countries.”

Fellow billionaire Richard Branson also dropped in to ask Zuckerberg a question about connecting the rest of the world with the internet. He also asked him what the biggest benefits would be with this move.

To this, Zukerberg responded, “When we talk about connecting the world, most people talk about the clear benefits to all the people who will get internet access and don’t have it today. Those benefits are many: access to education, health information, jobs and so on.”

He adds, “Many people estimate that for every billion people we connect, we’ll raise more than 100 million out of poverty. But one thing that we often overlook in this discussion is how everyone who is already connected will benefit from having everyone online.”

In others, Zukerberg was asked his vision regarding Oculus — the virtual reality headset for 3D gaming. To this, he explains, “Our mission to give people the power to experience anything. Even if you don’t have the ability to travel somewhere, or to be with someone in person, or even if something is physically impossible to build in our analog world, the goal is to help build a medium that will give you the ability to do all of these things you might not otherwise be able to do.”

He adds, “This will be incredibly powerful as a communication medium as well. Just like we capture photos and videos today and then share them on the internet to let others experience them too, we’ll be able to capture whole 3D scenes and create new environments and then share those with people as well. It will be pretty wild.”

Facebook CEO Mark Zukerberg was also asked what his secret to success was. His only reply – Don’t give up. Towards the end, he thanked everyone for their questions and stated that he would be doing more Q&As in the future.

Posted by : Gizmeon