Today, Mozilla is launching a prototype version of an open-sourced initiative that determines the health of the Internet. The goal is to start a conversation about what is and what is not making the internet healthy, and ultimately, to make it a better place for its users.
Mozilla, a non-profit foundation that is mostly known for the maintenance of the web browser Mozilla Firefox, is going through a major rebranding. This initiative project, called The Internet Health Report, has been part of the foundation’s major rebranding efforts, which includes a new and crowdfunded Mozilla logo.
The Internet Health Report’s 5 Core Issues
In a blog post, Mark Surman, Mozilla’s executive director, explains the need for the initiative through a blog post. While Surman is not against the commercialization of the internet, he says that the platform has been dominated and monopolized by the big players in the industry. Although he did not mention who those big players are, Surman did mention Mark Zuckerberg who “shows up on the cover of The Economist depicted as a Roman emperor.”
Surman also emphasized that the centralization of the internet “takes away opportunity for entrepreneurship” because it is in the hands of too few people, resulting to less competition.
Aside from decentralization, other aspects of the internet which the project aims to focus on are open innovation, online privacy, digital inclusion, and web literacy.
Open Innovation And Digital Inclusion
Open innovation, according to the organization, is a place where “anyone can publish or invent online without asking for permission, and that the technologies used to run the Web are transparent and understandable.” The foundation supports the reform of intellectual property laws and supports alternative licensing methods such as the Creative Commons.
The Internet Health Report also supports digital inclusion, considering the fact that more than half of the websites are in English, even though only 25% of the world’s population understands the language. The project also wants to promote internet usage in a world where 57.8% cannot afford to have broadband internet and 39.5% cannot afford to have an online connection through a mobile device.
Web Literacy And Privacy Issues
The project also aims for people to have the skills necessary for a “healthy Internet citizenship” that goes beyond coding. It aims to promote web literacy in order to bridge the gap between “the few who know how the technology works, and a majority who do not.”
The Internet Health Report also wants the implementation of lean data practices, where less information from users is shared online.
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