Challenges in HCI: digital divide

Adopted by the ACM Council in 1992, the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct focuses on issues involving the Digital Divide that could prevent certain categories of people — those from low income households, senior citizens, single-parent children, the undereducated, minorities, and residents of rural areas — from receiving adequate access to the wide variety of resources offered by computer technology. This Code of Ethics positions the use of computers as a fundamental ethical consideration: "In a fair society, all individuals would have equal opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, the use of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin, or other similar factors." This article summarizes the digital divide in its various forms, and analyzes reasons for the growing inequality in people's access to Internet services. It also describes how society can bridge the Digital Divide: the serious social gap between information "haves" and "have-nots."