Don’t disconnect, says Zuckerberg

Lima, Peru. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg called on world leaders yesterday to forge a more “connected” planet, something he said was under threat after Donald Trump’s US election win and Britain’s “Brexit” vote.

Zuckerberg said in a keynote speech at an Asia-Pacific leaders’ summit that while globalization and interconnectedness have their problems, the world must fight the urge to “disconnect.” “As we are learning this year in election after election, even if globalization might (boost) prosperity, it also creates inequality. It helps some people and it hurts others,” he said.

The 32-year-old billionaire said there was a “fundamental choice” to make in reacting to that inequality.

“We can disconnect, risk less prosperity and hope jobs that are lost come back. Or we can connect more, try to do more great things, try to work on even greater prosperity and then work to aggressively share that prosperity with everyone.”

The second option is better, but also harder, he said in his speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru.

“Disconnecting is relatively easy. But connecting requires making big investments in infrastructure and generating the political will to make hard long-term decisions,” he said.

Facebook has made headlines with its projects on connectivity and internet access. (AFP)