Book contents
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Human Right to Technology
- 2 The Collective Right to Technology
- 3 The Fundamental Right to Technology
- 4 The Irresponsibility of Technology Companies
- 5 Fundamental Corporate Responsibility
- 6 Patent Responsibility
- Acknowledgments
- Index
3 - The Fundamental Right to Technology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 April 2022
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Technology and the Public Interest
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Human Right to Technology
- 2 The Collective Right to Technology
- 3 The Fundamental Right to Technology
- 4 The Irresponsibility of Technology Companies
- 5 Fundamental Corporate Responsibility
- 6 Patent Responsibility
- Acknowledgments
- Index
Summary
The multiple rounds of COVID-19-related lockdowns in 2020 and beyond have required around 50 million American students to rely on the Internet to receive their education.1 However, 9.7 million of them have no reliable internet access in their homes.2 Some schools have resorted to installing Wi-Fi networks in school parking lots that are accessible to students, despite the health risks of people gathering.3 Moreover, the impact on their schooling is not the only impact exerted on young people by a lack of reliable internet access. It has also meant a lack of access to Netflix, TikTok, YouTube, and other forms of social media entertainment that have become important outlets for coping with boredom, loneliness, and even despair during the pandemic. Worse still, because virtually all health information about COVID-19 is online, a lack of internet access can be a matter of life or death.
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- Technology and the Public Interest , pp. 75 - 103Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022