Alwaght-The Israeli regime is collaborating with Facebook to provide free internet access to Asian and African countries in what is seen a digital colonialism.
The Israeli regime’s Spacecom Satellite Communications Ltd plans to provide internet access for Sub-Saharan African countries from space. However this project ostensibly suffered a blow when Spacecom lost its AMOS-6 communications satellite following an explosion at SpaceX’s Florida launch site on September 1.
Pro-Israeli social network Facebook has already signed up almost half the countries in Africa to its free internet service in a controversial strategy to grab the market in one of the world’s biggest mobile data growth regions. The Countries covered in this Facebook-Israeli project have a combined population of nearly 700 million.
Interestingly, SpaceX's launch failure coincided with Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg's trip to Kenya amid plans to beam the so called free internet to remote areas. The free internet initiative is already facing opposition.
In December 2015, India voiced concerns about the neutrality of Facebook’s free internet program and effectively prohibited it use. Telecom companies, security experts, and net neutrality activists believe that Israeli-backed Facebook’s plan to provide ‘free internet’ to impoverished people is actually a ploy to block and violate net neutrality while controlling user’s preferences.
Digital Colonialism
Digital colonialism is about the impact on the mind of repeated mass media messages, including commercials, on audiences around the world. In this type of colonialism, just like how Britain and other colonialists sought out territories anywhere in the world, state-sponsored multimedia giants now seek to capture millions of viewers, readers, or listeners. Most of these multimedia giants are affiliated to former Western colonial powers and the Israeli regime.
African countries suffered for decades from political, economic and cultural colonialism and many are still under the yoke of neo-colonialism. Due to rapid technological changes, the world has entered a new phase of digital colonialism with Asian, African and Latina American countries being newly targeted in this nefarious scheme.
With the rapid growth of African economies, Western and Israeli companies are set to grab this big market and the digital sector is a major target.
The population of Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to rise to over 1.397 billion by 2025 coupled with a rising middle class. Technology is expected to play a leading role in Africa’s rise as a global economic powerhouse.
Israel’s Objectives in Providing Free Internet to Africa
African countries have for many decades supported Palestinian struggle for liberation from Israeli colonialism and this impacted negatively on Tel Aviv’s standing internationally. However over the recent past, the Israeli regime has been making inroads in Africa
The Israeli regime has been facing international isolation and facing such a situation, the Tel Aviv regime seeks to attract friends in Africa to vote in its favor at the UN as it is facing difficulties justifying its crimes against Palestinians. The Tel Aviv regime, aware that African countries need technologies is now moving in the continent with promises to solve the continent’s water, agriculture, security, health care and IT challenges.
Israeli Regime Least Qualified to Offer Free Internet
It is ironic that the Israeli regime seeks to offer free internet in Africa while the regime recently unveiled plans to censor the Internet’s worldwide social media platforms with the building of an “international coalition” to counter criticism.
January this year, Israeli regime’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called for “developing legislation in conjunction with European countries,” most of which “are very interested in this idea.”
The legislation has common features, such as defining what constitutes incitement and what the responsibilities of social networks regarding it are, a spokesman for the minister said. “Companies that do not comply will find themselves hauled into court, paying a penalty,” he added.
Mid this year, Facebook and Twitter deleted thousands of posts, pages and accounts in response to demands from the Israeli regime.
“We succeeded to achieve our goals as around 70 per cent of our demands [to delete Facebook and Twitter content] were fulfilled,” Israeli Minister of ‘Justice’ Ayelet Shaked said.
Therefore, the Israeli regime, and indeed Facebook are least qualified to offer ‘free’ internet to African countries as they are denying Palestinians and others the right to campaign for the liberation of Palestine through social media.
The Israeli regime is misusing its high- tech companies to spread its tentacles using soft power and pursue its expansionist and domineering policies which it has been unable to achieve using military power. The Tel Aviv regime has over the decades been endearing itself to African leaders and now has set its sights on the masses through this bait of ‘free internet’.
In reaction to the Israeli regime’s plan to offer ‘free’ internet to Africa and Asia, Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance has said: “It is strange that the usurper regime, which is also a terrorist regime can wish nations well.” Referring to the disastrous launch of the Israeli satellite which was to offer ‘free’ internet to Africa, Ali Jannati pointed out that, ‘Today Information Technology, social media and major media outlets are dominated by enemies who are using them as weapons.” He said the failed rocket was constructed by the Israeli regime and funded by private cartels in the US which have the support of Tel Aviv.
African nations understand the pains of colonialism and apartheid and certainly would never wish to return to that dark era, however, digital colonialism is a new challenge for the continent and calls for vigilance and understanding of the phenomenon and effective means of countering it.
