Afterword Internet freedom, nuanced digital divides, and the Internet craftsman 1 Sascha D. Meinrath James Losey Benjamin Lennett New America Foundation, Open Technology Institute The international consensus that communications is a fundamental human right is emerging as we begin to understand the key role that the Internet plays in numerous spheres of social life. In 2010, United Nations Secretary- General, Ban Ki-moon, stressed the importance of access to the Internet and information in his remarks to the General Assembly (United Nations, 2010), and Spain and Finland have elevated broadband access to a legal right (BBC, 2010; Morris, 2009). The economic and democratic potential of Internet connectivity has driven 20 European Union nations and the United States to set goals for universal broadband access (see European Union, n.d.). However, while most commentators and policy makers have focused on the benefits of broadband and Internet connectivity, two significant dilemmas receive less attention. First, the challenges faced by the unconnected (the “Dark Side of Metcalfe’s Law” – see Tongia and Wilson, 2011) remain less explored. While the evolution of communications technologies opens the door for greater equality (making information and knowledge increasingly available to many), history demonstrates that availability alone is insufficient. As telecommunications experts Rahul Tongia and Ernest Wilson (2010) posit, “The more people included within and enjoying the benefits of a network, the more the costs of exclusion grow exponentially to the excluded.” A second oft-overlooked fact is that all connectivity is not created equal; in the Internet age, which technologies and devices you use to connect increasingly determine your online opportunities. This differentiation is rapidly creating a more nuanced digital divide that manifests itself, not just in terms of who has access to broadband and who does not, but what users can actually do with their connectivity. These twenty-first century divides are driven by a worsening trend among communication providers to increasingly lock down networks and devices. The Internet, though predicated on an open, decentralized architecture, is becoming increasingly subject to command-and-control The Digital Divide_BOOK.indb 309 5/8/2013 2:33:20 PM