Equality in the information age

Anatole France once observed "the law, in its majestic equality, forbids all men to sleep under bridges ... the rich as well as the poor" Such a stunted idea of equality neither served those who slept under bridges in the early twentieth century nor will it serve those children and communities stranded on the roadside of the Information Highway in the next century. Just as the railroads and interstates were the backbone of commerce, job growth, and prosperity in this century, the networks of information form the backbone of the next. We are enjoying the longest peacetime expansion of our economy, and this prosperity is directly linked to the rise of the information technology sector. Indeed, it is estimated that one-quarter of our economic growth has come from this sector of our economy. Yet the technologies, skills, and infrastructure underpinning this growth have not yet reached all Americans. There exists a "digital divide," separating the technological haves and have-nots, dividing those with on-ramps onto the Information Highway from those forced to live in its shadows. This digital divide is defined not only by inequality in access to technology but also unequal access to opportunities to participate in the ownership and management of these vital companies. As technology restructures our economy for the Information Age, we must find ways to ensure that technology is a force that unites and uplifts us as a nation, rather than a force that divides. That is why I believe that the contributions in this issue of the Federal Communications Law Journal are so important and timely. I. ACCESS TO THE TOOLS OF LEARNING The issues discussed on the pages of this journal principally concern the lives of those not yet old enough to read it: children--the first citizens of the new millennium. The issue of access to new technology will also determine the steps of every worker on each rung of the socioeconomic ladder. It is clear that in the next century, those who are literate in computer languages and familiar with new technologies will succeed, and those who are not, will not. The high-skilled, well-paid jobs of tomorrow demand the ability to use computers and telecommunications. By next year, it is estimated that 60 percent of all jobs will require technical skills that most Americans do not have, and the workers in these jobs earn wages that are on average 10 to 15 percent more than those of other workers. In the New Economy, every child without access to the Internet and without technology skills inherits a lifetime of missed opportunity. Yet a lack of basic access to these technologies persists. Recently, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce issued a report, entitled Falling Through the Net II, which found that many more people own computers and have access to online services than three years ago, but there is still disparity by race and income. For instance, the number of home PCs has increased by more than 50 percent since 1994, and the number of households using e-mail has nearly quadrupled. However, the study also found that families in households earning more than $75,000 a year were seven times more likely to own a computer than those in households earning $5,000 to $10,000. White households were twice as likely to own a computer as Black households. Other studies show that 78 percent of the schools in affluent communities have Internet access--but only half the schools in low-income areas have access. Children from low-income households and neighborhoods do not have Internet access at home or at school, and as many as three-quarters of Black high school and college students do not have a PC. Finally, in terms of their practical ability to get services, inner city areas are as technologically isolated as most parts of rural America. Clearly the digital divide is both a rural and an urban problem. To bridge this gap, Congress gave the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) an important way to ensure that all of America's children have access to the learning tools they will need in the Information Age. …