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What's happening to the health of the Internet?

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Riddhi Sharma
New Update
the health of internet, healthcare

Mozilla has launched a new “health report” on the 'internet' about what’s helping (and what’s hurting) the largest global resource. It urges digital netizens to help save the internet. Mark Surman, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation says, “like the environment, the Internet is something all of us live in and are surrounded by and rely upon.”

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the health of internet

The report suggests that the internet is not in its best state and right now it needs our help. Yes, it says the internet is unwell, sick or unhealthy. The current report is based on existing sources of data on what people, companies, and governments are doing on the Internet.The health report tackles five major areas, open innovation, decentralization, online privacy, digital inclusion, and web literacy.

Open Innovation

The report states, so much of the goodness that flows from the Internet is thanks to the fact that it is an open system: free for anyone anywhere to learn and build on. The good bit lies in the fact that anyone can create a website, and that all sites are treated equally by the Internet. Over 1.1 billion websites now exist and more appear by the second. When it comes to the unhealthy aspects of the open network, it presents patent wars, digital wars, and laws to regulate the digital spaces.

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Hence, it appeals to the innovators to vary of all “patent trolls.” It says, "by ending patent wars and seeking reform, we could help more innovations prosper rather than hinder their development... We need more people, governments, and companies to build openness into their thinking and practice, or we will gradually see it erode."

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as a Roman emperor on the cover of The Economist (April 9-15, 2016) Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as a Roman emperor on the cover of The Economist (April 9-15, 2016)

Decentralization

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The idea od internet should not be left in the hands of few. The report suggests that a lot if the platform has been dominated and monopolized by the big players in the industry. Mozilla opened the debate of entrepreneurship and centralization of power, saying that both these cannot coincide. It says, centralization of the internet "takes away the opportunity for entrepreneurship."

Online Privacy

This year was full of shocks when it came to online privacy matters. The password leaks and the information leaks from LinkedIn and Yahoo shook us all. Hence, it ahs always been very clear that the safety and security of the Internet impact us all. It is critical for us to understand what is happening to our data, and have the ability to control how it is used.

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It is true that public awareness about privacy is now steadily increasing, and this is a necessary precursor to pushing for better rights and services. Many countries have already gotten their lawmakers to tackle these issues. But, despite "more public scrutiny of surveillance laws" there are data breaches and attacks of ransomware. All this stops the users to function in a healthy way.

Hence, Mozilla encourages netizens to be more critical about what information they share voluntarily.

Digital Inclusion

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Net neutrality and the Internet for all have been the part of our everyday lives now. But, what part of it can be made into a reality is still a bit unanswered question. We all know that everyone deserves equal opportunity to access the Internet and to use it to improve their lives and societies. Mobile phones are our secret warriors for digital inclusion. They have put the Internet within reach of more young people, women and rural areas than ever before.

But the digital divide has widened. While People living in wealthier countries have far greater access, and as per well-documented facts Internet adoption is slower for women than men almost everywhere in the world.

Web Literacy

The concept of Web Literacy proposes everyone to have the skills to read, write and participate in the digital world. It aims that more and more people move beyond consuming to creating, shaping and defending the Web.The core idea is to bring Internet skills into the school classroom. It is already happening in Core curriculum across most of Europe.

So, the solution lies in providing everyone with the skills they need for good Internet citizenship. As per the report, "We should resist the deepening of divides between the few who know how the technology works, and a majority who do not."