SCN: Larry Irving will present at DIAC-02

[Doug Schuler]

We've just learned that Larry Irving, former undersecretary
of commerce in the Clinton administration will be presenting
at the CPSR conference in May at the UW.  Since Bush installed
a corporate lawyer whose background was in lobbying for large
media companies Irving has been fairly outspoken...

-- Doug

   ******************************************************************
   *     SHAPING THE NETWORK SOCIETY                                *
   *          Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change        *
   *                  http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02        *
   * Tomorrow's information and communication infrastructure        *
   *   is being shaped today.                                       *
   *                              But by whom and to what ends?     *
   *                 Seattle: May 16-19                             *
   * Questions: diac02-info at cpsr.org                                *
   ******************************************************************

--------------------
>From USA Today...
02/06/2002 - Updated 08:30 AM ET 

'Digital divide' report criticized 

WASHINGTON (AP)  Internet use is growing at a faster rate among the
poor and minorities and in rural areas, the Bush administration says,
claiming some success in shrinking the "digital divide."

But critics said the administration's report, released Tuesday, plays
with the numbers, while the government's statistics show that the gap
between technology haves and have-nots is actually widening.

"They're telling Americans the problem has been solved, and even by the
plain statistics it shows the problem isn't solved," said Larry Irving,
who wrote previous editions of the report for the Clinton
administration. "It's like putting lipstick on a pig, and saying it's
no longer a pig."

According to the report, in 1997, only 10% of people who made under
$25,000 per year had Internet access. But almost 45% of those who made
over $75,000 had access.

In 2001, while both groups made progress, that difference had jumped to
over 50 percentage points. Just over a quarter of the poorer group uses
the Internet.

Nancy Victory, head of the National Telecommunications and Information
Agency, which released the report, said, "I prefer to look at the glass
as half-full." She pointed to the growth rates as more telling. From
1998 to 2001, Internet use among blacks grew at an annual rate of 31%,
while use among whites grew by 19%.

....

rest of article at 
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/02/06/digital-divide.htm
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