Why Facebook’s push to end poverty is actually self-serving

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg wants to end poverty; he regularly says that for every 10 people who gain Internet access, one person is raised out of poverty. Yet some experts say Zuckerberg is wrong. There’s no proof that giving Internet access to a person raises them from poverty. They say Facebook’s efforts to connect the developing world smell of colonialism and will ultimately serve Facebook’s long-term business interests.

“Here’s a large American company coming into India and appearing to try to have its way to gain eyeballs for what is ultimately a company that sells eyeballs to advertisers,” said Kentaro Toyama, a Michigan professor. He also rejects Zuckerberg’s claim about the benefits of providing access. “Any idea that Internet access itself decreases poverty is deeply flawed,” Toyama said. He noted that as the United States has gone through a golden Internet age, its poverty rate hasn’t declined. While there’s some anecdotal evidence pointing to the positive effects of Internet access for the poor, information on the long-term effects is “sketchy,” according to Johannes Bauer, chair of Michigan State’s department of media and information. “The bigger challenge of really lifting people out of lasting poverty, that’s a more complicated policy that’s not simply addressed by providing access,” Bauer said.