Case for bridging the digital divide

The Covid-19 pandemic is underscoring that internet access is no longer a luxury, but a necessity to participate in society fully. More than half the world’s population is now online. But access varies hugely according to the development level of countries, the wealth and education of individuals, and gender: fewer women than men use the internet.

In some places, the ability to use a crucial source of information may be a matter of life and death (even if not all the information is reliable). Millions are denied access. Human Rights Watch urged governments that imposed internet shutdowns — such as Bangladesh and Myanmar — to lift them, warning that they could prove deadly given coronavirus’s spread.

The pandemic is a powerful reminder of the effect of the digital divide. It is building the case for treating internet access as a public utility: an essential service that needs to be regulated and buttressed by the state. In the UK, the government and major telecom firms agreed to remove data allowance caps on broadband services, avoid cutting off people who can’t pay bills and offer generous mobile and landline packages, with more data at low prices or free calls. In the US, some providers have agreed to maintain service to those who fall behind on payments, while companies from Belgium to SA have raised data limits.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web Foundation made sensible recommendations, including zero-rating websites for official health organisations and other essential government services, so that they don’t draw from users’ data plans, ensuring access to the most important, and reliable, information. These are all good and positive steps. But they address a problem highlighted and worsened by this crisis, not created by it. When the threat posed by coronavirus has ebbed, the digital divide will still need to be closed. /London, April 5

©