The topic of this talk is located within the theoretical framework of research into access to the internet (digital divide) and usage of the Internet (digital inequality). Both concepts focus on differences between groups of people, mainly on differences which are related to the socio-economic status. As both concepts are successive, the digital divide is often described as a „first-level digital divide“ whereas digital inequality is described as a „second-level digital divide“, that goes beyond the differenes between the "haves" and "have nots" regarding access to the Internet (Hargittai 2002, Warschauer 2005, van Dijk 2012).
The research question of this paper is how both concepts of the digital divide and digital inequality are challenged by current transitions of the Internet and the society (Lessig 2006). This challenge will be exemplified by the discourse on prioritisation and regulation as opposed to the basic idea of Net Neutrality (Wu 2003, Hahn & Wallsten 2006, Marsden 2010; Iske & Verständig 2014).
Net Neutrality refers to a fundamental structural characteristic of the Internet: At each node of the internet data packages are delivered to the user at best-effort, i.e. every node will do its "best effort" to deliver data packages. The transfer is neutral or blind to the content of the data package itself. In other words: The data package is delivered independently from the content it contains or from the service, which sends it.
By contrast prioritisation techniques like „Deep-Packet-Inspection“ (DPI) and „Quality-of-Service“ (QoS) are not neutral as they favour the delivery of data packages with a certain content or from a specific service. This prioritisation is currently discussed controversially in the context of hd video-streaming (e.g. netflix). But the implications on usage and deliberation need to be considered in a wider approach when it comes to participatory cultures (Jenkins 2006).
In this talk it will be analysed how prioritisation relates to digital inequalities. It will be argued that prioritisation leads to a new and fundamental divide with even more complex inequalities. As this emerging form of a digital divide is based on fundamental, technological changes in the infrastructure of the Internet, it is strongly related to an economic background of internet users: Users who can afford paying for specific services are privileged whereas user with low economic background will be underprivileged and thus cut of emerging social spaces. In both cases, regulation and prioritisation influences the possibilities of how to make use of the Internet and influences patterns of usage.
Currently, regulation is mainly discusses as a political or an economic challenge. Therefore the objective of this talk is to outline and discuss upcoming educational challenges. The specific divide following from the infrastructural changes of regulation will be discussed as zero-level digital divide, as it is underlying the first-level digital divide as well as the second-level digital divide. It will be demonstrated how a zero-level digital divide challenges (media)-educational theory and practice as inequalities will be already reproduced on an infrastructural level, which again raises new kind of questions regarding access to the Internet.
