Access and Digital Divide COM 300 Kathy E. Gill 16 May 2006.
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Recap: Community Defined
Dyson: the unit in which people live, work and play Esther’s website, Release 1.0
Sardar: communities are shaped by a sense of belonging – to a place, common struggle, tradition, and history, in other words, it’s more than just having common interests
Recap: Connectivity About 60% of all homes have computers US – about half of all adults who are
online at home connect via broadband – that’s about 1/3 of all adults
Canada leads the G7 group of industrialized countries in broadband penetration (OECD) US is 16th (ITU)
US Is Not World Tech Leader
New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, Aug 2005: (tongue-in-check) considering a run for President, promising that after four years, our cell phone service would be at least as good as Ghana's, and if elected for a second term, as good as Japan’s.
Digital Divide: Not Just 3rd World Definition: The gap between those who
have access to or who can benefit from technology and those who cannot
Examples: US: Rural/Urban broadband access US: “poor” / “rich” (access) English v “everything else” Half of the world’s population has never made a
telephone call (ITU) Internet indicators by country (pdf)
Digital Divide: Questions
Is technology (access) what developing countries need in order to rise about "developing status"? Why or why not?
Should the U.S. and other western countries subsidize technological development (access) in developing countries? Explain.
Access and Accessibility (1/2)
There’s “access” and then there’s “accessibility”
Do we have access to a technology? Does the technology allow everyone
access (accessibility)? Whose responsibility is it to help
make the internet more accessible to all?
Access and Accessibility (2/2)
Today network neutrality is hot “access” topic Feb: AOL and Yahoo propose fee to ensure e-
mail delivery (IHT, 6 Feb 2006) $0.025 to $0.01 per e-mail Will not be subject to existing user spam filters A benefit for businesses (Ascribe, 2 Feb 2006)
AT&T and others are proposing “access-tiering” (two-tier Internet) (Red Herring, 31 Jan 2006) Prioritize packets? Streaming video is the
rationale
Net Neutrality (1/3)
There is something wrong with network owners saying “we’ll guarantee fast video service from NBC on your broadband account.” And there is something especially wrong with network owners telling content or service providers that they can’t access a meaningful broadband network unless they pay an access tax.
I don’t mean “wrong” in the sense of immoral, or even unfair. My argument is not about the social justice of Internet access. I mean “wrong” in the sense that such a policy will inevitably weaken application competition on the Internet, and that in turn will weaken Internet growth. Testimony, Lawrence Lessig, Stanford, Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation Committee, 7 February 2006
Net Neutrality (2/3)
HR 5252: Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE) Would set up a national franchise for cable
companies, replacing the current system of locally negotiated contracts.
Would preempt state and local consumer protection laws; preempt local government authority over municipal rights of way; and preempt state laws prohibiting local governments from offering certain services to provide Internet access.
Public Space: Form of Access “From the time that humans first defined
private spaces, public spaces have served as places where people have come together to exchange ideas. From the ancient Greek's Agora to the Middle Ages' Commons to early 20th century American urban streets and parks, public spaces have been centers for free speech and public discourse.”
Howard Besser, UCLA, 2001
Public Space and Free Speech “[T]he First Amendment affords the public
access to discussion, debate, and the dissemination of information and ideas... the right to receive information is an inherent corollary of the rights of free speech and press that are explicitly guaranteed by the Constitution... the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient's meaningful exercise of his own rights of speech, press, and political freedom." Supreme Court, 1978, First National Bank of Boston v.
Bellotti
Public Space is Important Public space provides the potential for the gathering
of people who might not otherwise come in contact with one another in their daily lives. In this way public space is crucial to the public sphere (Jacobs, 1999)
In public space, action gains publicity because it is visible to the public (Mattson, 1999; Putnam, 2000)
Cyberspace has been called a surrogate public space (Gumpert & Drucker, 1992, 1998) or the "electronic agora" (Rheingold 1993, 14).
A story from COM538, 2003
Public Space Nurtures Diversity
Open to everyone No monetary barrier, no physical barrier
(ADA), no “color” barrier (desegregation) Examples: city streets, parks, public
transportation, public buildings Others?
Pseudo Public Space
Shopping malls, sports stadiums Private spaces Can control speech Can control access
Airwaves As Public Space Radio and TV licenses predicated on broadcasting that
serves the “public interest” Public Radio and TV (PBS) What happens when “everyone” watches “cableTV,” a
private space? Will “internet TV” provide another pseudo commons?
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show Crooks and Liars, Google Video (parody), BitTorrent,
Archive from About.com, iFilm (viral video), MediaMatters, OneGoodMove (Jeff Gannon), Clip Requests
Public Space and The Commons West Law and Supreme Court (and other) decisions
Who shall control the commons? Do we want all “transactions” mediated by “the
market”? Copyright, Copyleft, Creative Commons
Public Domain, Fair Use, First Sale A 1709 law set copyright for 14 years Prior to 1976, copyright was granted for 28 years and
renewable for another 28 years for a total of 56 years The 1976 Copyright Act boosted the term to 75 years The1998 Sonny Bono Term Extension Act extended the
copyright to 95 years for corporations and 70 years after death for individuals
10x10 rests on fair use
“Public Space” in Cyberspace (1/2)
Community Networks The Community Network Movement Seattle Community Network Minnesota’s eDemocracy
Variation on the public square as meeting, a political organization and discussion venue
“Public Space” in Cyberspace (2/2)
Public (free) WiFi in the US Spokane New York Parks, Google in NY/SF Coffee shops in Seattle Free WiFi Directory
By providing free WiFi, do you think that we are intensifying a constant need for news, info and entertainment? Why or why not?
Summary (1/2)
Access is only part of the DD story Although most of the DD story is outside our
borders, it’s not just outside our border Access also means public space Public space is critical to a diverse society
and to democracy Public space is changing
Network TV -> Cable TV Rise of pseudo public space
Summary (2/2)
Efforts to foster public space in cyberspace include community networks and publicly accessible WiFi Both focus on access first, benefits of
technology second Watch COPE!
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