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{{about|the free-of-charge mobility Wikipedia effort|predecessors and prototypes of Wikipedia|History of Wikipedia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{update|date=April 2018}}
[[File:Wikipedia Zero Logo.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Wikipedia Zero logo]]
'''Wikipedia Zero''' is a project by the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] to provide [[Wikipedia]] free of charge on mobile phones via [[zero-rating]], particularly in [[developing markets]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/02/22/wikipedia-zero-sms/|title=Wikipedia Zero Wants to Bring Wikipedia to Mobile Users Without a Data Plan|first=Brandon|last=Russell|accessdate=April 8, 2013|date=February 22, 2013|work=TechnoBuffalo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2013/2/22/getting-wikipedia-people-who-need-it-most/|title=Getting Wikipedia to the people who need it most|date=February 22, 2013|publisher=Knight Foundation|accessdate=April 8, 2013|first=Kul Takanao|last=Wadhwa}}</ref> The objective of the program was to increase access to free knowledge, in particular without data-usage cost. With 97 operators in over 72 countries, it is estimated that access to Wikipedia was provided to more than 800 million people through this program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero|title=Wikipedia Zero - Wikimedia Foundation|last=|first=|date=|website=wikimediafoundation.org|language=en|access-date=February 17, 2018}}</ref> The Wikipedia Zero program will end in 2018.

The program was launched in 2012,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/sxsw-wikipedia-for-non-smartphones-is-brilliant-here-s-why-15189767|title=SXSW: Wikipedia for Non-Smartphones Is Brilliant. Here's Why|accessdate=April 8, 2013|date=March 8, 2013|first=Erik|last=Sofge|journal=[[Popular Mechanics]]}}</ref> and won a 2013 [[South by Southwest]] Interactive Award for activism.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/sxsw/2013-03-12/sxsw-interactive-awards-announced/|title=SXSW Interactive Awards Announced|first=Monica|last=Riese|accessdate=April 8, 2013|date=March 12, 2013|work=[[The Austin Chronicle]]|location=Austin, Texas|issn=1074-0740|publisher=Austin Chronicle Corp.}}</ref> After having received criticism over the years for violating the principle of [[net neutrality]],<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> in February 2018 the Wikimedia Foundation announced the end of the initiative, stating that it would take a new approach on partnerships.<ref name=":2" />

[[Facebook Zero]] has been cited as an inspiration for Wikipedia Zero.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/wikipedia-zero-free-data-if-you-can-afford-it/a-17304321|title = Wikipedia Zero: free data if you can afford it|last = Dillon|first = Conon|date = December 18, 2013|accessdate = January 15, 2014}}</ref>

==History==
{{advert|section|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Wikipedia Zero countries as of September 6 2016.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Wikipedia Zero countries as of September 6, 2016]]
Below is a selective history of launches. For a complete list of participating mobile networks and launch dates, see [[wmf:mobile partnerships|Wikimedia Foundation: mobile network partners]].
* May 2012: [[Malaysia]], with [[Digi Telecommunications]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/05/26/wikipedia-zero-launches-in-malaysia-with-digi/ |title=Wikipedia Zero launches in Malaysia with Digi — Wikimedia blog |publisher=Blog.wikimedia.org |date=May 26, 2012 |accessdate=June 27, 2013}}</ref>
* July 26, 2012: [[Kenya]], with [[Orange S.A.]]
* October 2012: [[Thailand]], with [[DTAC|dtac]]; [[Saudi Arabia]] with [[Saudi Telecom Company]]
* May 2013: [[Pakistan]], with [[Mobilink]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/business/05-Jun-2013/mobilink-brings-wikipedia-zero-to-pakistan |title=Mobilink brings Wikipedia Zero to Pakistan |publisher=nation.com.pk |date= |accessdate=June 27, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mobilink brings Wikipedia Zero to Pakistan|url=http://www.mobilink.com.pk/category-media-center/press-8releases/mobilink-brings-wikipedia-zero-to-pakistan/|website=[[Mobilink]]|accessdate=July 12, 2016}}</ref>
* June 2013: [[Sri Lanka]], with [[Dialog Axiata]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dialog.lk/dlg/mobile-vas-information-services-wikipedia/ |title=Wikipedia FREE |publisher=Dialog |accessdate=July 30, 2015}}</ref>
* October 2013: [[Jordan]], with [[Umniah]]; [[Bangladesh]], with [[Banglalink]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/wikipedia-zero/ |title=Tech Talk | Wikipedia Zero | A righteous initiative for accessing free knowledge |publisher=Archive.thedailystar.net |date=December 2, 2013 |accessdate=June 24, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/old/index.php?ref=MjBfMTBfMzBfMTNfMV84OV8xODgzNTY= |title=Banglalink launches Wikipedia Zero :: Financial Express :: Financial Newspaper of Bangladesh |publisher=Thefinancialexpress-bd.com |date= |accessdate=June 24, 2014}}</ref>
* April 2014: [[Kosovo]], on the [[IPKO]] network<ref>{{cite web|title=Kosovo's Largest Foreign Investment Sets Tone for Innovation|url=http://www.the-american-times.com/kosovo-3/2014/07/22|website=www.the-american-times.com|publisher=Hazlehurst Media SA|accessdate=July 22, 2014|date=2014-07-22}}</ref>
* May 2014: [[Nepal]], with [[Ncell]]<ref>{{cite web|url= http://np.lifestohack.com/wikipedia-zero-arrives-in-nepal-via-ncell-and-you-dont-have-to-pay-a-paisa-to-use-it|title= Wikipedia Zero arrives in Nepal via Ncell and you don't have to pay a Paisa to use it|accessdate=May 19, 2014}}</ref> and in Kyrgyzstan with [[Beeline (brand)|Beeline]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.knews.kg/pr_articles/49836_Beeline_otkryil_besplatnyiy_dostup_k_Wikipedia_dlya_svoih_abonentov/|title=Beeline открыл бесплатный доступ к Wikipedia для своих абонентов|publisher=}}</ref>
* May 2014: [[Nigeria]], with [[Airtel Nigeria]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://techcabal.com/2014/05/29/wikimedia-foundation-partners-airtel-nigeria-offer-free-wikipedia-access-subscribers|title=Wikimedia Foundation partners with Airtel Nigeria to offer free Wikipedia access to subscribers — TechCabal|publisher=|date=2014-05-29}}</ref>
* October 2014: [[Ukraine]], with [[Kyivstar]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kyivstar.ua/kr/press_center_new/reporters/releases/?id=47424|title=Абоненти "Київстар" можуть користуватися Wikipedia з нульовим балансом на рахунку
|publisher=Kyivstar |accessdate=November 13, 2014}}</ref>
* December 2014: [[Ghana]], with [[MTN Ghana]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/2014/December-22nd/mtn-ghana-empowers-customers-with-free-access-to-wikipedia.php | title=MTN Ghana empowers customers with free access to Wikipedia | publisher=myjoyonline.com | accessdate=December 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/2014/December-22nd/mtn-ghana-empowers-customers-with-free-access-to-wikipedia.php | title=MTN Ghana empowers customers with free access to Wikipedia |publisher=myjoyonline.com | date=December 22, 2014 | agency=Ghana News Agency | accessdate=December 24, 2014}}</ref>
* December 2014: [[Angola]], with [[Unitel (Angola)|Unitel S.A.]]
* January 2015: [[Algeria]], with [[Djezzy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electrodz.com/2016/02/11/djezzy-lance-lacces-gratuit-a-wikipedia-687 |title=Djezzy lance l’accès gratuit a Wikipedia }}</ref>
* March 2017: [[Iraq]] with [[Asiacell]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-4267312/Asiacell-offer-free-access-Wikipedia-Iraq.html|title=Asiacell to offer free access to Wikipedia in Iraq|work=Mail Online|access-date=October 28, 2017}}</ref>
* September 2017: [[Afghanistan]] with [[Roshan (telco)|Roshan]]

The Wikimedia Foundation announced on February 16, 2018, that the Wikipedia Zero program would be phased out and terminated by the end of 2018.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://blog.wikimedia.org/2018/02/16/partnerships-new-approach/|title=Building for the future of Wikimedia with a new approach to partnerships – Wikimedia Blog|work=[[Wikimedia Foundation]]|accessdate=February 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fingas |first=Jon |date=February 18, 2018 |title=Wikipedia ends no-cost mobile access for developing countries |url=https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/18/wikipedia-zero-ends/ |work=[[Engadget]] |accessdate=February 19, 2018}}</ref>

==Reception and impact==
[[File:What is Wikipedia Zero?.webm|thumb|Promotional video, produced by the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] and narrated by their founder [[Jimmy Wales]]]]
[[File:Open Letter for Free Access to Wikipedia (EN subtitles).webm|thumb|Promotional video about free access to Wikipedia, featuring a school-class from South Africa and their open letter to telecommunication companies]]

The ''Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones'' of [[Chile]] ruled that [[zero-rating]] services like Wikipedia Zero, [[Facebook Zero]], and [[Google Free Zone]], that subsidize mobile data usage, violate [[net neutrality]] laws and had to end the practice by June 1, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://qz.com/215064/when-net-neutrality-backfires-chile-just-killed-free-access-to-wikipedia-and-facebook/|title = Less than zero – When net neutrality backfires: Chile just killed free access to Wikipedia and Facebook|last = Mirani|first = Leo |publisher= Quartz |date = May 30, 2014|accessdate = July 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/25090/face-chile-net-neutrality-v-human-right-facebook-wikipedia|title = Face Off in Chile: Net Neutrality v. Human Right to Facebook & Wikipedia|last = McKenzie|first = Jessica|date = June 2, 2014|accessdate = July 2, 2014}}</ref> The [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] has said, "Whilst we appreciate the intent behind efforts such as Wikipedia Zero, ultimately zero rated services are a dangerous compromise."<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/net-neutrality-and-global-digital-divide|title=Net Neutrality and the Global Digital Divide|work=Electronic Frontier Foundation|date=2014-07-24}}</ref> [[Accessnow.org]] has been more critical, saying, "[[Wikimedia]] has always been a champion for open access to information, but it’s crucial to call out zero-rating programs for what they are: Myopic deals that do great damage to the future of the open internet".<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.accessnow.org/blog/2014/08/08/wikipedia-zero-and-net-neutrality-wikimedia-turns-its-back-on-the-open|title=Wikipedia Zero and net neutrality: Wikimedia turns its back on the open internet|work=accessnow.org|date=August 8, 2014}}</ref> The [[Wikimedia Foundation]]'s Gayle Karen Young defended the program to ''The Washington Post'', saying, "We have a complicated relationship to net neutrality. We believe in [[Net neutrality in the United States|net neutrality in America]]", while adding that Wikipedia Zero required a different perspective in other countries: "Partnering with telecom companies in the near term, it blurs the net neutrality line in those areas. It fulfills our overall mission, though, which is providing free knowledge".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/11/25/wikipedias-complicated-relationship-with-net-neutrality/|title=Wikipedia's 'complicated' relationship with net neutrality|work=Washington Post}}</ref>

Hilary Heuler argues that "for many, zero-rated programs would limit online access to the 'walled gardens' offered by the web heavyweights. For millions of users, Facebook and Wikipedia would be synonymous with 'internet'."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.com/article/who-really-wins-from-facebooks-free-internet-plan-for-africa |title=Who really wins from Facebook's 'free internet' plan for Africa?|author=Hilary Heuler|work=ZDNet}}</ref> In 2015, researchers evaluating how the similar program Facebook Zero shapes [[information and communications technology]] use in the [[developing world]] found that 11% of Indonesians who said they used Facebook also said they did not use the Internet. 65% of Nigerians, and 61% of Indonesians agree with the statement that "Facebook is the Internet" compared with only 5% in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://qz.com/333313/milliions-of-facebook-users-have-no-idea-theyre-using-the-internet/|title=Millions of Facebook users have no idea they're using the internet|author=Leo Mirani|date=February 9, 2015}}</ref>

An article in ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]'' magazine notes that the free access via Wikipedia Zero made Wikipedia a preferred way for its users in Bangladesh and elsewhere to share copyrighted material. This caused problems at Wikipedia (where uploading copyrighted media is discouraged) but the article is deeply critical of the Wikipedia Zero project, arguing that because "they can't afford access to [[YouTube]] and the rest of the internet, Wikipedia has become the internet for lots of [[Bangladesh]]is [and] a bunch of more-or-less random editors who happen to want to be the piracy police are dictating the means of access for an entire population of people."<ref>{{cite news|last=Koebler|first=Jason|title=Wikipedia's Piracy Police Are Ruining the Developing World's Internet Experience|newspaper=Motherboard|publisher=Vice Media|date=March 27, 2016|url =https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wikipedia-zero-being-surveilled-by-piracy-police|access-date=June 10, 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Alliance for Affordable Internet]]
* [[Free Basics]]
* [[Twitter Zero]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Wikipedia Zero}}
* [[wmf:Wikipedia Zero|Wikipedia Zero]] at the [[Wikimedia Foundation]]
* [https://blog.wikimedia.org/c/wikipedia-zero/ Wikimedia blog posts about Wikipedia Zero]

{{Wikipedia}}

[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Internet access]]
[[Category:Net neutrality]]
[[Category:Projects established in 2012]]
[[Category:Wikimedia Foundation]]
[[Category:Wikipedia|Zero]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 2012]]

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