Short video social platform, TikTok, has announced that it will roll out 50 free WiFi hotspots in communities across South Africa. The announcement was made on Thursday, September 2022. &and the need for digital literacy inclusion for all communities.
“We understand that as an entertainment platform accessible on mobile devices, TikTok plays an important role in the digital world. With this pilot, we hope to encourage more people to join digital spaces such as ours, to not only create content but to learn new skills and educate fellow community members about their passion and interests,” shares Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Director: Government Relations and Public Policy, Sub Saharan Africa.
Speaking on the initiative, the CEO of ThinkWiFi, Janine Rebelo, stated that the company is delighted to contribute to promoting internet accessibility and reducing digital inequalities in the country.
“We are excited to be making a contribution to one of the most important needs of our people today.” Opportunities on the internet for our youth are endless, but many South Africans do not have access to digital hardware, digital literacy skills, and internet connectivity. The latter reality is exacerbated by the high cost of data and the limited availability of infrastructure to support broadband penetration targets. We are delighted to contribute towards bridging the digital divide, promoting internet accessibility and reducing digital inequalities in our country.” she added.
ThinkWiFi is a Cape Town-based internet service provider building public WiFi infrastructure to provide free, uncapped connectivity in communities, townships, universities, and transportation hubs across South Africa. It previously partnered with non-profit organisations like GreenCape to deliver WiFi-enabled solar street lights in Cape Town’s informal settlement Witsand in Atlantis.
According to TikTok in a statement, “The TikTok Wifi pilot comes as the world celebrates World Literacy Day today, under the theme Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces, which has compelled the world to shift its focus on the stagnant growth in internet penetration in our communities.”
“According to Statistics South Africa, only 37% of households have access to the internet through cell phones or computers. Additionally, places of learning and opportunities are continuously changing, leaving the digital literacy gap wider.”
The plan is to encourage growth in internet penetration and make the entertainment platform accessible to more mobile devices. Several communities still remain outside the digital sphere, mainly due to the high cost of data and limited infrastructure.
The pilot will encourage more people to join TikTok, learn new skills, and educate fellow community members.
TikTok has become the leading destination for short-form video content creation. The platform homes a vast array of creative content once you sign into the TikTok login homepage. From tech, politics, and sports to architecture, beauty and lifestyle, the TikTok lite continues to home creative expression through videos.
The TikTok Wi-Fi hotspot pilot is expected to run for six months. The parties did not say what outcomes they’d need to see for the offering to be made permanent.
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TikTok Hack
The announcement of TikTok WiFi came three days after it was accused of being hacked. TikTok denied reports that it was breached after a hacking group posted images of what they claim is a TikTok database that contains the platform’s source code and user information. TikTok said its team “found no evidence of a security breach in response to these allegations.”
According to the media, hackers shared images of TikTok’s alleged database to a hacking forum, saying they obtained the data on a server used by TikTok. The hackers claim the server stores over 2 billion records and 790GB of user data, platform statistics, code, and more.
“We have confirmed that the data samples in question are all publicly accessible and are not due to any compromise of TikTok systems, networks, or databases,” TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said in a statement. “We do not believe users need to take any proactive actions, and we remain committed to the safety and security of our global community.”
Most of the “stolen” data appear to have been public-facing information scraped from the platform. Troy Hunt, a regional director at Microsoft and the creator of the Have I Been Pwned tool, called the hackers’ data “inconclusive” but surmised “it could be non-production or test data” that likely was not taken through a breach.