The inquiry seeks to identify the barriers that prevent equal access to new technology and information services, and to recommend strategies that instead use technology to remove barriers. The split between information rich and information poor is exacerbated by a rate of change that is nothing short of exponential. Elderly people with no interest in IT and the World Wide Web might find themselves entangled regardless or penalised for their lack of technical savvy. As society goes digital, not to have access to information technology and services is to be forced into economic and social exile. What is under threat are some fundamental human rights.
Information technology affects both kinds of rights.
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