DEMOS

 

The "digital divide" has become a priority for governments across the world. The main focus of the government action in the UK, Europe and North America has been to provide access to the equipment and connections which can get disadvantaged people on-line. More recently, attention has focused on the skills needed to use information and communication technologies and thrive in a knowledge-driven labour market.

This ground breaking pamphlet argues that the most efforts to tackle the "digital divide" are focused on the wrong problem. The authors show that the real challenge is not the exclusion form information, but exclusion by information. The rise of a digital economy based on detailed personal profiles means that organisations - public, private and voluntary - are increasingly able to exclude large numbers of people from access to basic services and opportunities on the grounds that they constitute 'bad risks'. In the long term, the growth of exclusion by information raises fundamental questions about social mobility and the role of the state.

The authors argue that a more meritocratic society does not necessarily mean greater social mobility. If more people are excluded from the services and opportunities needed to achieve quality of life on the grounds of 'merit', a series of accurate individual decisions by different organisations maybe fuelling the long term exclusion of a significant minority.

This pamphlet reviews all the problems associated with the 'digital divide', and makes policy recommendations to tackle them. It takes the information exclusion debate into a new territory, and raises issues which few of us will be able to ignore.

The report is financially supported by EDS UK

Dr Perri 6 is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Government at the University of Strathclyde and a self-employed researcher, writer and consultant.

Ben Jupp is a Policy Officer at the New Opportunities Fund and former Senior Researcher at Demos