Why the lifting of data caps is
a huge boost for children’s rights

By Claire O’Meara, Head of External Affairs

In the past week your WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter feeds have likely been filled with amusing memes about the peculiarities of a life lived almost solely online. One of my favourites is the Scooby Do mock-up suggesting Zoom is behind it all. These much-needed moments of humour however depend on access to good quality internet and the availability of devices to utilise it. My stomach has plunged several times when my internet has faltered, mercifully it turns out, at the hands of a curious one-year old who likes the pretty lights of the plug-in wifi-booster.

For others the picture is extremely different. Research by the Carnegie Trust in 2018, estimated that 700,000 11-18-year-olds don’t have access to internet on a computer or tablet at home, and 60,000 have no access at all.  Whilst this was shocking in 2018, now it seems unthinkable.

During lockdown, access to the digital world is essential for children to continue to exercise their basic rights to education, play, information, freedom of expression and thought. Whilst before, libraries and schools helped to bridge this gap, now technology-poor families are competing for limited resources within their homes. And the fact is, children are not always first in line.

On Sunday it was announced that a wide range of internet and mobile providers working with DCMS have agreed to lift data caps on broadband usage and provide generous low-cost mobile packages. This is extremely welcome and will provide enormous relief to millions of families juggling the competing data demands of family members. For children it means they have more chance of continuing their education, connecting with friends and accessing essential services for their health and mental well-being.

This announcement does not however assure those unable to pay bills or purchase additional PAYG packages, that they will remain connected.  There is also still a huge gap to overcome around access to equipment, with anecdotal evidence of schools providing loans of laptops and tablets to students. As estimates of time in lockdown stretch through spring into summer, the impact of the UK’s digital divide is growing ever wider and its impacts deepening for children across the country.