The ongoing pandemic both illuminates and aggravates many of our society’s inequities. One of these is the disparity in Philadelphians’ access to the internet.

The digital divide is not new, but our present crisis exacerbates the damage it inflicts. For example, as schools have shut down to prevent infection, online education has cut off many low-income students from learning. Students without reliable internet access at home must gather at restaurants or even Wi-Fi-equipped school buses in order to keep up with lessons.

At Community Legal Services, we are seeing firsthand that lack of internet access harms many other constituencies as well, including people with disabilities and people seeking jobless benefits. And the disparities encompass more than just internet access. Even reliable phone service can be difficult for many low-income families to maintain. Policymakers need to do much more to support many forms of remote access to services in Philadelphia.

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