@CiaraNi @EvilCartyen @micminter
Den er netop utrolig svær, fordi #WhatsApp data er gratis for mine venner og kolleger i mnage afrikanske lande, mens Signal, etc er ikke -
corporate manipulations against free markets have strong impact.
Acesso à Internet: Zero rating faz a diferença nas classes D e E
Colômbia proíbe WhatsApp grátis e dispara campanha de ódio - 28/11/2025 - Tec - Folha
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/tec/2025/11/como-advogada-derrubou-whatsapp-ilimitado-na-colombia-e-virou-alvo-de-odio-da-direita-a-esquerda.shtml
I’m feeling deeply hopeless for not receiving any donations💔
We wake up every morning to drops of dew falling through the torn roof of our tent...
Winter hasn’t even begun, yet we’re already shivering from the cold.
Please, stand with me🙏💔😭
⬇️⬇️
https://gofund.me/d0cc0587
https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/115445244962527420
#JimmyWales #wikipedia #theGuardian #bookPromotion #capitalism #ElonMusk #adTech #zeroRating #Facebook #Meta #surveillanceCapitalism #regulation
So there’s a new Guardian interview with Jimmy Wales out (to promote his new book, with an affiliate link for the Guardian in it) titled “‘People thought I was a communist doing this as a non-profit’: is Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales the last decent tech baron?”* that’s making the rounds here.
For those who only read the headlines, here’s a TL;DR: No. There is no such thing as decent tech baron, that’s an oxymoron.
From the article itself:
“‘I’m actually quite in favour of business and capitalism and all that.’ (He’s currently president of Fandom, an ad-funded entertainment site that hosts user-edited pages, owned by private equity firm TPG Capital).”
And:
“Does he still regard Musk, the world’s richest man, as a friend? ‘Friends is probably a little strong. I mean, not, not that –‘ he sputters, editing himself in real time. ‘I want to be careful how I say that, only because I’ve met him maybe five or six times, so that I would be overstating to say friends. We’ve been friendly, and even now he’s much nicer to me in private than you might think. I mean, he’s got a big public persona, and that’s a little bit different from the private Elon, who I think is more thoughtful.’”
Also, some more background:
https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/115445244962527420
#JimmyWales #wikipedia #theGuardian #bookPromotion #capitalism #ElonMusk #adTech #zeroRating #Facebook #Meta #surveillanceCapitalism #regulation
Attached: 2 images @[email protected] @[email protected] Although, do remember this is the same man who partners with Facebook to legitimise their zero-rating with Free Basics (https://m.facebook.com/help/510997135669221/)* and who told me, publicly on Twitter back in the day, that he doesn’t believe in any form of regulation whatsoever. (Sadly, that link is dead with my Twitter account so you’ll just have to take my word that for one. But it’s not like he was hiding it and he’d likely confirm it today if you asked him.) * You have to set your VPN to somewhere like Peru to see the information presented in the first screenshot. Otherwise you’ll get the page you see in the second.
Nunca critiquei 🙄
Anatel: Gov.br precisa adotar zero rating para serviços públicos digitais - ConvergenciaDigital
> A digitalização de serviços públicos avançou para mais de 4 mil aplicações disponíveis pela internet
These "#ZeroRating" programs charged subscribers by the byte to reach any service *except* Facebook and its partners. Facebook claimed that this would "bridge the #DigitalDivide," by corralling "the next billion internet users" into using its services.
The fact that this would make "Facebook" synonymous with "the internet" was just an accidental, regrettable side-effect.
8/
Sebastian Büttrich @ ITU
ConvergenciaDigital [Unofficial]
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