Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's dreams seemed to explode Thursday along with that of Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder.
On board the ill-fated Falcon 9, Zuckerberg had put up the Amos 6, an Israeli-built satellite supposed to usher internet connectivity in Africa. It tried to link as many people as possible in the world. Is the plan over now?
Zuckerberg did voice his sadness. "As I'm here in Africa, I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent," Zuckerberg wrote when he dropped into Africa during the rocket launch.
Not everyone likes his plans, anyway. Critics point out: "In some ways, it's difficult not to see the SpaceX explosion that destroyed the Amos 6 as a sign from above that maybe, just maybe, this "vision" of dragging everyone online isn't as good as Zuckerberg wants us to believe."
Hence, while the intention is to provide "free internet" to everyone through a plan called Internet.org launched in 2013, the plan outline was to usher in "internet access and the benefits of connectivity to the two-thirds of the world that doesn't have them."
Called the Free Basics in 2015, the plan also features a number of apps and services like BabyCenter and SmartBusiness, with impressive sounding gadgets like Amos 6 and a drone called Aquila to "beam internet to people from the sky."
"The internet is one of the most powerful tools for economic and social progress," Zuckerberg wrote in April 2015. "It gives people access to jobs, knowledge and opportunities. It gives voice to the voiceless in our society, and it connects people with vital resources for health and education."
However, the charge here is that Zuckerberg is trying to hold the remote control gadget. Josh Levy explained back in a 2015 Wired opinion column: "For people using Internet.org to connect to the internet, Facebook will be the de facto gatekeeper of the world's information." Levy refers to the Internet.org as a type of "Facebooknet."
Facebook seems pretty scary to the naysayers because this powerful private company is not monitored by any rules like a major telecom company such as Verizon. Facebook actually likes to be "secretive" about a lot of its operations. With so many security issues, the process does not strike everyone as too sound.
Both Internet.org and the Free Basics have been called by critics as "a stripped-down, walled-off web for poor people."
Hence, a number of people have voiced their disapproval and concern, including telecom companies, security experts, and net neutrality supporters, who wrote a letter explaining that "access for impoverished people is construed as justification for violations of net neutrality."
Still, not willing to stop his plans, Zuckerberg this week tried to promote the satellite. "[It] means more connectivity and more opportunity for entrepreneurs like Rosemary everywhere," he wrote in a Facebook post about Amos 6 and African entrepreneurs.
So even though the explosion of the rocket hit the pause button on his plans for a while, Zuckerberg still seems to think that he has not lost the war. He was reported to be "deeply disappointed" yet clarified that "[We] remain committed to our mission of connecting people to the Internet around the world."
"He's so determined, this is a matter of personal obsession with him," says David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World.
The signs are clear. Though not many people welcome him, it does seem that Facebook will not stop at being part of everyone's lives someday.
