Elct Paper

Ethics and the use of Technology
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & CRITICAL THINKING (ELCT)

Year 4, Unit: Ethics and the use of Technology
Essential Reading 1: Ethics and Access to the Internet
America’s Surprising Breeding Ground for Inequality: The Internet

Clare Duffy, CNN Business, 17 May 2020.
Edited from Source: <https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/17/economy/internet-access-universal-wifi/index.html>
Life has moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, and access to the internet has shone a
new light on America’s inequality crisis. Nearly 15% of American households do not have a
home internet subscription, including dial-up, broadband or a cellular data plan, according to US
Census estimates from 2018. For low-income earners, that percentage is more than double the
national average.
A Pew Research study published last June discovered a link between household income and home
broadband services, as well as access disparities between people of different races and education
levels.
Lower-income Americans without internet access can often find it at their offices, schools and
libraries. But those have been shuttered during the pandemic. Many people are struggling to get
online, including children attending school virtually and people who want to access their state’s
unemployment filing system online. Experts say further investments in internet infrastructure and
federal funding programs are needed to change the structural failures that created the current
inequality.
The pandemic is an opportunity for policymakers and the industry to push longer-term fixes, said
Jonathan Spalter, CEO of industry trade group USTelecom. “I don’t think there’s ever been a
time where all parties, all political perspectives, have been so aligned in understanding the truly
critical role that broadband is playing for all Americans today,” Spalter said.
A lack of home internet access is often thought of as a rural issue, but in urban areas where home
internet services are readily available, affordability is a barrier to access. Many rural areas of the
country simply do not have the infrastructure to support the kind of internet connectivity and
speed needed for entire families to attend school or work. For internet providers there is less
economic incentive to build out their network in those areas.
Lauren Ardizzone, a New York City public school teacher, said many of her students have limited
access to devices and lack adequate internet connections to attend online classes, making it hard
for her to teach during the pandemic. “There is no low-tech option anymore,” she told CNN
Business. “I can’t hold students accountable for learning things that I can’t teach them.”
New York City and New York’s Department of Education provide families in need with devices
to help mitigate that challenge, while some telecom companies offer free internet access and have
suspended data limits to help bridge the gap in access.
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Faculty of Theory of Knowledge (ToK) /
English Language & Critical Thinking (ELCT)
Year 4 2023
But across the country, students without such options have been forced to attend online classes
from their school’s parking lots where they can connect to the Wi-Fi network or find other ways
to access internet connectivity that they don’t have at home. This disparity could further
exacerbate unequal access to college for certain students.
“The way K-12 education works in our country, if we go into a class of 30 kids, we don’t say, ‘25
of you will get a book. The other five are on your own. If you can afford a book, great, but if you
can’t you can come to our parking lot’,” Dean Brenner, senior vice president of spectrum strategy
at Qualcomm (QCOM), said.
“Education is supposed to be universal in this country,” he added.
More sustainable solutions will be needed to ensure the United States is better prepared to
weather the next potential disruption, experts say. One oft-proposed option is free nationwide Wi-
Fi, or “universal Wi-Fi”. But it’s not that simple in America, said Qualcomm’s Brenner. The
technology underlying the network would cost money to install and maintain, he said, and “in a
country with as many square miles as the United States, it’s just not practical.”
Industry experts say there are also physical hurdles to building the infrastructure required. The
idea might also run up against issues with the private companies running America’s internet
connectivity. “That would be great, but I don’t know how that would ever politically survive,”
Sohn said. “Super high-speed connectivity, free to every home in the United States? Not
happening.”
The US government has tried many times to enhance internet adoption in urban areas and expand
internet availability in rural locations. But those efforts have been met with a mix of red tape and
practical hurdles. Satellite internet shows promise, but it is still a long way off from reality.
Questions:
1) Explain why some Americans are not able to access the internet
2) How are young people disadvantaged without internet access?
3) Identify all the stakeholders involved in this issue & consider which stakeholder is most
responsible for ensuring equal access to the internet.
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English Language and Critical Thinking (ELCT)
Year 4 2023
3
English Language & Critical Thinking (ELCT)
Year 4 2023

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Ethics and the use of Technology

ENGLISH LANGUAGE & CRITICAL THINKING (ELCT)

Essential Reading 1: Ethics and Access to the Internet

America’s Surprising Breeding Ground for Inequality: The Internet

2) How are young people disadvantaged without internet access?

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