Since the enactment of the executive order signed by the US President Donald Trump, a number of companies have come out to give their support to those affected by the travel ban. This time, the CEO of the Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, Hiroshi Mikitani, expressed his thoughts about the travel ban and announced that Viber is offering free Viber Out to landlines and mobiles between the United States and the 7 affected countries.
Hiroshi Mikitani expressed his sentiments at the executive order via a series of tweets on his official Twitter account. He said: "it is wrong as a human being to uniformly discriminate based on religion and nationality."
But it is wrong as a human being to uniformally discriminate based on religion and nationality. We will make sure we will support our
— 三木谷浩史 H. Mikitani (@hmikitani) January 30, 2017
He further added that Viber will offer free international calls from the United States to all the 7 affected countries. The executive order prevents immigrants and travels from Muslim-majority countries including Iran, Libya, Suda, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia to enter the US.
Rakuten Group Viber will announce tomorrow free international calls from the US to all countries banned. — 三木谷浩史 H. Mikitani (@hmikitani) January 30, 2017
TechCrunch reported that Viber's official page posted a brief statement in relation to Mikitani's announcement. But it is notable that the site didn't condemn President Trump's travel ban. Instead, the company is offering support: "We connect people. No matter who they are or where they're from."
Viber Out or calls made from the app to landlines and other mobiles in those earlier-mentioned seven countries cost around $ 0.15 per minute to $ 0.70 per minute, per Fortune. Now, the charge has in indefinitely waived to help those affected.
Hiroshi Mikitani acquired Viber in 2014 for $900 million. He is but one of a growing number of tech companies who have been vocal about the executive order from President Trump. Others have joined protests in airports all over hte country. Recently, Airbnb offered free temporary housing, Google pledges $4 million supporting 4 organizations that support immigrants, and Lyft is donating $1 million to the ACLU over 4 years.
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