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| Wikimedia launched a paid service for large tech companies |
The Wikimedia Foundation is creating a new paid service for companies that rely on Wikipedia data.
The foundation plans to launch this service at a later time, in 2021.
The so-called Wikimedia Enterprise will not change the way the current Wikipedia service operates.
Instead, it offers new options for companies that use their content, and this category includes giants like Google and Facebook.
Wikimedia has always made the final changes to how Wikimedia Enterprise works, but they are somewhat similar to the extended version of the Wikipedia API that allows anyone to collect and re-host Wikipedia articles.
Business customers can retrieve data faster, format it according to their needs, or have new options for sorting and distributing data.
As Lane Becker, senior director of the Wikimedia Foundation explained, companies can pay employees to sort Wikipedia data, and Wikimedia Enterprise does this sort at source.
Wikipedia is partially supported by many of the major Internet services, including free encyclopedias and Google Knowledge Boxes provided by voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri.
As the web platform tries to combat fake news, Wikipedia has become the main source of fact-checking.
Some companies donated money to use the free Wikimedia service, while others started large projects with support from Wikipedia without notifying the foundation.
The Wikimedia FAQ page insists that the foundation does not compel large tech companies to pay Wikipedia.
The potential service enables the company to display the most reliable and community-rated editorial content rather than the most recent content, thus preventing fake or offensive articles from visiting its platform.
The Wikimedia Enterprise team admits that it strikes a balance between the reality of the business and its mission to enable free access to knowledge.
The team said: It's about setting up an activity that can be successful for decades to come, withstand all storms, and have a real chance to complete a mission that was first planned 20 years ago.
He added: In order to achieve the goals contained in the vision, we need more resources and more partners and allies.