Facebook – Internet Synonymity: What does it mean when ‘Facebook’ is the ‘Internet’?
Akeefah lal Mahomed / Nov 21 / Social Media
Social media is often debated with concern over the influence it wields, its impact on mental health and the disruptive role it can play in democracy. In this narrow lens of communication, accessibility can easily be taken for granted. For much of the world, connectivity remains expensive, inaccessible or unreliable.
In response, big tech corporations have invested in boosting connectivity in the Global South. Spearheading the way has been Facebook with their Free Basics project. Through cooperation with major mobile providers, Facebook is able to offer their product for ‘free’ to users in poorer countries who would otherwise pay for data per gig.
“…so if you're looking up articles or doing anything on fb it doesn’t eat up your data, but the moment you transfer out of Facebook it eats up your data, so [people] just do everything on Facebook because they can afford to do it that way.” – East African citizen.
In Mark Zuckerberg’s 2013 white paper he asked, ‘Is Connectivity a Human Right?’ playing upon a 2011 UN report joining the two concepts. However, what does it mean for “Facebook” to be “the Internet”? The dangers of synonymy are in the careless links it builds, particularly in nations struggling with freedom of expression. It is worth specifying that this article is primarily focused on the role of Facebook’s free service projects for emerging economies, although as Facebook continues to monopolise and rebrand its space, these challenges bleed onto associated apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram.
The Internet as a Human Right
Social media tools such as Facebook and WhatsApp have become key to the communications infrastructure of developing nations. Whilst emerging economies are often more likely to network via platforms like Facebook than their western counterparts, it also plays a key role in strengthening infrastructures such as education and health. For example, digital connectivity has enabled the informal use of mobile phones in healthcare across countries within Africa. This has bridged gaps in formal provisions and restructured the healthcare systems. Particularly highlighted by the global pandemic, people have come to rely on the internet to stay connected and support steady economies.
“That’s how people find jobs. It’s how you get educated. The Covid crisis has just highlighted that in a way that we could not have imagined six months ago.” – Facebook VP of Connectivity, Wired UK.
Connectivity has likewise had an impact on social movements. In countries where there is a gap between government promises and realities, social media has facilitated the sharing of information. Disillusioned groups have been able to facilitate gatherings to demand change. Protesters have also been able to record situations on the ground, displaying human rights violations and countering government propaganda. This has led to a surge of support from across the globe, and built momentum to civil movements, though often only in the short-term. Far from being wrong, internet connectivity has established itself as a critical element of political engagement and information sharing.
Digital Colonisation
The expansion of Facebook into emerging economies is hardly philanthropic. Already, 72% of Facebook users are non-western. The shift is part of a deliberate and focused strategy to integrate the platform into state communications infrastructure. Zuckerberg’s efforts have been met with enthusiasm, as emerging economies are often eager to embrace new technological innovations that will level the playing field with developed nations.
When early online experiences are born through one platform, it entrenches the platform’s role into the everyday. This blurs distinctions between itself and the wider web. The more powerful and transnational corporations become, the less push back individuals, groups or even nation-states have against their influence. The economic power behind Facebook makes it less likely local competitors will be able to thrive, particularly those in under-resourced areas of the world.
“It misleads the public and makes them think these sites and services are the essential tools.” - Ellery Biddle, advocacy director of Global Voices.
Partial access to information is also a dangerous thing. Facebook does not introduce these users to an open internet environment where one can learn, shape and construct their experience. Instead, people are only able to access partial articles that have been uploaded onto Facebook. People are often reading and reacting through clickbait headlines and the former half of article information – similar to if you try to read an article from The Telegraph without a subscription. As the cacophony of news outlets increases, it only becomes more difficult for users to distinguish what is real or not. When Facebook becomes a primary service for news updates, this lack of net neutrality can mislead the public when navigating realities.
“Facebook’s Free Basics is shaping the internet experience of users – the services they can access, the services they cannot access” – Delhi-based activist, The Outline
The Free Basics initiative was contested in India and later banned amid pressure from civil society. Though this did not gain much press in Western media, this was a big blow-out for the campaign and one of Facebook’s bigger scandals prior to Cambridge Analytica. India has highlighted that where Free Basics is operational and Facebook is dominant, a ‘filter bubble’ is created that influences the user's worldview.
Weaponisation of the Media
Since the Arab Spring, social media has had an increasing role in protests. However, though some have been able to use such platforms as tools against corruption, state surveillance can use the same tools to survey populations and stifle protestors. Crackdowns on digital freedoms have created repressive political landscapes. Facebook’s open platform allows for government surveillance and subsequent censorship through threats or detainment. This year alone, 25 year old Walid Kechida in Algeria was sentenced to three years in jail for reposting a meme on Facebook. Though this story captured global attention, it was not the first case in the Global South. In countries aiming to appear less authoritative, threats can indirectly target loved ones’ employment, leaving families without income.
When confronted with issues that may create social unrest, Facebook has acted as an intermediate. In 2015, Facebook pulled out of Egypt after President Al-Sisi’s administration requested to use the platform to spy on his population. Ahead of the 2018 Presidential elections in Cameroon, Facebook co-sponsored engagement of local organisations to discuss elections and digital rights. Yet in Vietnam, Facebook has complied with demands to silence criticism on its platform to “ensure services remain available” for people.
In Myanmar, Facebook has played an essential role in ‘increasing connectivity’. The free internet service brought millions online and now Facebook is their internet. In the recent past, Myanmar’s military has used the platform to spread hate speech. From general racist posting to inciting violence and fake online stories, the app became an enabling environment for hostility towards Rohingyas by 2018. Ethnic tensions were inflamed and conflict broke out to the extent of “genocidal” in intent. Fast-forward to February 2021, the government banned Facebook in an attempt to stifle coordination of a civil movement regarding election fraud. This has been possible through state blocking of Internet service providers in all sectors.
What now?
Does the good outweigh the bad? Well, it all depends on where you stand on this issue. In the Global South where standards of living need improvement, where data costs are high, and where zero-rating has already been established for years, a regulatory ban on zero-rating could directly and significantly impact poorer users. India was in a unique position with a strong tech industry to oppose Facebook and combat net neutrality. The cost of data is one of many problems that need solving to get the disconnected online. The barriers to internet access include signal availability, device ownership, education, digital literacy and electricity.
For now, it seems inevitable that emerging economies will join Facebook’s incentives to face fears of being left behind. The launch of the discover app promised that “all websites are treated equally” after much backlash and scrutiny. This was prior to Facebook’s rebranding as ‘Meta,’ aiming to bring all their acquired apps under one company to “help people connect, find communities and grow businesses” - echoing much of its previous agendas since Zuckerberg’s 2013 white paper. Facebook’s monopoly over online spaces means that, for the developing and developed world alike, data is extracted for profit whilst subjecting individuals to a new world of surveillance. Companies that offer free software must be conscious of how information is spread and transparent about how they will profit from their users’ data or risk facing repercussions.