Many of us spend a lot of work and personal time on the Internet. But what we really know about the World Wide Web?
Researchers at Mozilla, the open source Firefox browser company, have produced the first ever Internet Health Report. The study examines the five main components of the network: privacy and security, openness, digital innovation, web literacy and decentralization. Specialists delved into the study of each issue and found out which way we are moving in using the World Wide Web, and how this affects overall well-being. It turned out that the answer is not at all unequivocal.
In the results of the study, Mozilla representatives wrote that there are some simple indicators to observe. In areas like encryption, security and access control, things are getting better. However, in matters of censorship, online harassment and energy use, the situation is getting worse. And simple indicators that you can rely on in the study simply cannot take into account the complexity inherent in such global networks as the Internet.
A significant part of this system is Facebook. Now she is undergoing serious study after a statement by Mark Zuckerberg, director general of the social network on Capitol Hill (talking about the Cambridge Analytica user data scandal). In a conversation with PCMag, Mozilla CEO Mark Surman explained why the situation is deadly for giant social networks..
“Cambridge Analytics took all this user information, placed it in a database, linked it to many other data sets and sold it as a targeted advertising tool. In terms of the scale of potential damage, this is not even a simple data leak, but a spill of radioactive waste within settlements ”
Here are some intriguing statistics and facts about the Internet from Mozilla’s report that every private or legal person should know about who is increasing their global presence through the network.
1. Google dominates
Chrome holds 64.7% of the desktop browser market and 47.8% of mobile browsers. 95% of information is searched by mobile users using Google, and desktop users by 87.1% (with the exception of Russia, where Yandex fully dominates).
2. Check your electricity bills
The authors of the study noted that some energy industry experts predict that by 2025 global technology companies will generate more carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere than almost any country (except the US, India and China).
3. Net neutrality
While the United States of America canceled the guarantees of net neutrality, which came into force in 2015, there are many countries that guarantee the implementation of the principle of “network neutrality”. These include Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, India, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Ireland, Tunisia, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic.
4. Online happiness
Facts about the Internet can not do without it. Mozilla specialists relied on a study conducted by a screen-tracking application and the Center for Humane Technology about applications that most affect user mood. Among the programs that cause people the most joy and pleasant experience were Audible, Sleep Cycle, Sonos, Headspace. The list of the most “unfortunate” applications was Reddit, Instagram, Facebook and Telegram.
5. Security and privacy
Eighty-one of the hundred most popular sites use an HTTPS connection that uses encryption. But some large technology companies do not get particularly high ratings when it comes to privacy policies and user data processing. According to the results of the research project Ranking Digital Rights, even the leading companies in these matters received unsatisfactory ratings. So, for example, Google has 65%, and this is the best result.
6. Connected or not
There are many inconsistencies and examples of uneven distribution of opportunities when it comes to access to the Internet. In Europe, for example, 20% of people do not have access to the World Wide Web, while in Africa it is exactly the opposite. In all countries except the United States, the male “population” of the Internet exceeds the female.
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