Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg launched Internet.org initiative in 2013. (Photo : REUTERS/ADNAN ABIDI)
Social network giant Facebook is giving its Internet.org project a major overhaul. The project was rebranded and will receive a new name as well as additional feature for more security and granular control.
According to Computer World, Facebook rebranded Internet.org and will now be named Free Basics by Facebook. The announcement was made at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Facebook vice president Chris Daniels made the announcement in the presence of a handful of journalists from India.
Facebook announced the update on the company's official blog posting, "We're making this change to better distinguish the Internet.org initiative from the programs and services we're providing, including Free Basics. Anyone currently using the app will be able to continue using the Android app, though it will now be called Free Basics by Facebook in Google Play."
Facebook launched the Internet.org global initiative in 2013. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claim that the initiative's goal is to bring Internet connection to the two-thirds of the world's population that do not have Internet connectivity. As of 2015, about 5 billion people in the world do not have Internet access.
Facebook claim that as of September 2015, the Internet.org initiative was able to bring Internet access to more than 1 billion people in various locations in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
The Internet.org free Internet service offers access to more than 250 websites. The initiative is currently available in 19 countries spanning across the globe. The Free Basic service will also add access 60 new websites.
The announcement was made prior to Zuckerberg's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
