Facebook Says Progress Is Slowing for Connecting Poor Countries to Internet

Progress with connecting low-income countries to the internet is slowing, Facebook said Monday, releasing its 2019 Inclusive Internet Index. Internet-connected households increased on average from 53.1 percent to 54.8 percent, but “the rate of growth in internet connections slowed to” 2.9 percent in 2019, vs. 7.7 percent in 2018, according to the index. About 5,000 respondents from 99 countries participated. Some 52 percent said “they are not confident about their online privacy.” Global Connectivity Policy and Planning-Head Robert Pepper urged collaboration and expertise-sharing among government, industry, academia, technologists and civil society: “No single stakeholder or group can achieve internet inclusion alone.”