Zuckerberg urges post-Trump world not to ‘disconnect’

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has called on world leaders to forge a more “connected” planet, something he said was under threat after Donald Trump’s US election win and Britain’s “Brexit” vote.

Zuckerberg said in a keynote speech yesterday at an Asia-Pacific leaders’ summit that while globalisation and interconnectedness have their problems, the world must fight the urge to “disconnect”. “As we are learning this year in election after election, even if globalisation might (boost) prosperity, it also creates inequality. It helps some people and it hurts others,” he said. The 32-year-old billionaire said there was a “fundamental choice” to make in reacting to that inequality.

“We can disconnect, risk less prosperity and hope jobs that are lost come back. Or we can connect more, try to do more great things, try to work on even greater prosperity and then work to aggressively share that prosperity with everyone.” The second option is better, but also harder, he said in his speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru.

“Disconnecting is relatively easy. But connecting requires making big investments in infrastructure and generating the political will to make hard, long-term decisions,” he said.

Facebook has made headlines with its projects on connectivity and internet access.

The social network has developed solar-powered drones and a satellite to beam internet service to remote areas. The company has helped more than 40 million people get online, Zuckerberg said.