August 2002 VOICE OF SHALOM

DIGITAL DIVIDE One of the most important concerns about the Internet involves what today is called the digital divide - a form of discrimination dividing the rich from the poor, both within and among nations, on the basis of access, or lack of access, to the new information technology. In this sense it is an updated version of an older gap between the 'information rich' and 'information poor'. The expression 'digital divide' underlines the fact that individuals, groups, and nations must have access to the new technology in order to share in the promised benefits of globalization and development and not fall further behind. Ways need to be found to make the Internet accessible to less advantaged groups. Cyberspace ought to be a resource of comprehensive information and services available without charge to all, and in a wide range of languages. Public institutions have a particular responsibility to establish and maintain sites of this kind. As the new global economy takes shape, the Church is concerned "that the winner in this process will be humanity as a whole" and not just "a wealthy elite that controls science, technology and the planet's resources"; this is to say that the Church desires "a globalization which will be at the service of the whole person and of all people". Ethics in Internet Pope John Paul II

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