The Digital Divide and Discrimination

While technology is largely seen as a means of development and progress, the rapid pace at which the world is becoming digitalised poses the question as to whether everyone is equipped to adapt to such digitalized environment. With more and more aspects of life, some being fundamental, becoming digitalised, issues develop regarding the accessibility of such technologies and the capacity of individuals to utilize them. The potential for discriminatory effects to permeate in this digital realm is imminent, with groups such as women and poor people being left behind as more and more aspects of life become digitalized. Some aspects of this new age of digitalization seem obvious from a discriminatory angle. Economically weaker sections of society would have trouble accessing technology as they would lack the means for the same. Additionally, a lack of digital literacy would also act as motivation for certain sections of society to refrain from engaging in new technology. The angle of discrimination in this aspect evolves when State machinery is compulsorily digitalised without any alternative. For instance, if access to a government welfare scheme is only made possible through digital means, without an offline alternative, those without access or literacy about the technology would not be able to benefit from the government scheme. This would create a discriminatory effect when compared to those sections of society which have the means to access and achieve technology and digital literacy. Such situations become increasingly evident in developing countries, such as India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, where it is observed that significant developments are being made within the State infrastructure towards digitalization, while a significant portion of the population remains without access to such mediums or without the requisite understanding of them. The effects of such a premature leap towards embracing technology could also permeate into realms beyond State welfare and touch upon more critical issues such as citizenship. Placing adequate infrastructure for the digitalization of State machinery is merely a first and nascent step, which needs to be predated by basic digital literacy and accessibility flowing through all sections of society. The alternative would be a downward spiral into an environment where a new form of inequality would arise entrenching the phenomenon of discrimination through a digital divide.

The international legal community has started to address the issue of the digital divide sporadically, and admittedly at a disappointing pace. The UN has largely addressed the issue of the digital divide by advocating for a right to access to the internet. In this regard, UNESCO calls upon states to promote access to the internet with due consideration for rural communities.[1] While the recognition of rural communities as an obvious group likely to be excluded is commendable, the fundamental flaw in this approach is viewing the issue of the digital divide through only the lens of access to internet. Even if access to internet is met, several factors still limit vulnerable groups from the full utilization of technology, such as lack of digital literacy or entrenched norms of subordination in society. Women existing in a patriarchal setting, for instance, would have inequal, if any, access to means of technology.

More substantive references to bridging the digital divide can be found in the Sustainable Development Goals, where the UN has held that the spread of information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies.[2] The intersectional nature of the digital divide can perhaps be well demonstrated by considering women and poor people. When it comes to women, factors such as economic inequality, social inequalities, lack of relevant content, an unsafe online environment all contribute towards less and less women having access to, or even choosing to have access to technology. The international framework has addressed this digital gender divide by recognising that there is a need to increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication.[3] There have also been developments which advocate that each person should have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to participate in, and benefit fully from, the Information Society and the knowledge economy.​[4] In the context of economically weaker sections of society, factors perpetuating the digital divide may include lack of access to technology or the internet, differential government investment in technological infrastructure in urban and rural areas, and the lack of digital literacy. In this regard, the ECtHR has also recognised that the internet has become one of the principal means by which individuals exercise their right to freedom to receive and impart information and ideas[5], thereby embedding access to technology within the discourse of rights, as opposed to a privilege. The sporadic, and largely soft law-oriented approach of the international community in tackling the digital divide is indicative of a recognition of the digital divide as a human rights issue, but one that certainly requires a faster and more justiciable plan of action.

[1] UNESCO, ‘Recommendation concerning the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace’, §7

[2] UNGA, ‘Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development’, A/Res/70/1, 21 October 2015, §15

[3] Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

[4] 2003 Declaration of Principles on Building the Information Society: a global challenge in the new Millennium [World Summit on Information Society] ​

[5] ECtHR, Cengiz and Others v. Turkey, §49,52