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Re-conceptualizing the Global Digital Divide
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Dr.
Mira Burri
Abstract
The article seeks a re-conceptualization of the global digital divide debate. It critically explores
the predominant notion, its evolution and measurement, as well as the policies that have been advanced
to bridge the digital divide. Acknowledging the complexity of this inequality, the article aims at analyzing the disparities beyond the connectivity and skills
barriers. Without understating the first two digital divides, it is argued that as the Internet becomes more
sophisticated and more integrated into economic, social, and cultural processes, a “third” generation of divides becomes critical. These divides are drawn not at
the entry to the net but within the net itself, and limit access to content. The increasing barriers to content, though of a diverse nature, all relate to some
governance characteristics inherent in cyberspace, such as global spillover of local decisions, regulation
through code, and proliferation of self- and co-regulatory models. It is maintained that as the practice of intervention intensifies in cyberspace, multiple
and far-reaching points of control outside formal legal institutions are created, threatening the availabil-
ity of public goods and making the pursuit of public objectives difficult. This is an aspect that is rarely ad-
dressed in the global digital divide discussions, even in comprehensive analyses and political initiatives
such as the World Summit on the Information Society. Yet, the conceptualization of the digital divide as
impeded access to content may be key in terms of ensuring real participation and catering for the longterm implications of digital technologies.
Keywords
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Recommended citation
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Mira Burri, Re-conceptualizing the Global Digital Divide, 2 (2011) JIPITEC 217 para 1.
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