REDMOND, WA - SEPTEMBER 23: Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, talks with Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, right, during a gathering of CEOs and other executives at Microsoft’s main campus September 23, 2015 in Redmond, Washington. Xi and top executives from U.S. and Chinese companies discussed a range of issues, including trade relations, intellectual property protection, regulation transparency and clean energy, according to published reports. (Photo by Ted S. Warren-Pool/Getty Images)
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised Saturday that his company will help bring Internet access to refugee camps around the world. Speaking with public and private leaders at the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Zuckerberg promoted the Internet as a “force for peace.”
As millions have been displaced by violence in Syria and other countries, the announcement comes as welcome news to many, but not without criticism. Free Basics, formerly known as Internet.org, is the name of Facebook’s global effort to connect those without connections, and it is the target of backlash that claims the program is less about philanthropy and more about gaining users.
Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with Kurt Wagner of Re/code about the effort and its intentions.