This is a speech I recently gave at the launch of the Digital Policy Alliance’s new report on Media literacy in Education

With continuing Government efforts to see public services online alongside expanding AI usage, media literacy has never been more urgent. Debates surrounding media literacy typically focus on visible risks rather than the deeper structural issues that determine who cannot understand, interpret and contribute in the digital age.

I have the honour of serving as an Officer of the Digital Inclusion All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), and previously as Treasurer of the predecessor Data Poverty APPG. This issue—ensuring digital opportunities are universal- is crucial for many of us in Parliament. 

The Urgent Case for Digital Inclusion

As many of us in this room know, digital inclusion is not an end in itself; it is a vital route to better education, to employment, to improved healthcare, and a key means of social connection. Beyond the social benefits, there are also huge economic benefits of achieving a fully digitally capable society. Research suggests that increased digital inclusion could result in a £13.7 billion uplift to UK GDP.

Yet, while the UK aspires to global digital leadership, digital exclusion remains a serious societal problem. The figures are sobering:

  • 1.7 million households have no mobile or broadband internet at home.
  • Up to a million people have cut back or cancelled internet packages in the past year as cost of living challenges bite.
  • Around 2.4 million people are unable to complete a single basic digital task required to get online.
  • Over 5 million employed adults cannot complete essential digital work tasks.
  • Basic digital skills are set to become the UK’s largest skills gap by 2030.
  • And four in ten households with children do not meet the Minimum Digital Living Standard (MDLS).

The consequence of this is that millions of people are prevented from living a full, active, and productive life, which is bad for them and bad for the country. This is why the core mission of the DPA—to tackle device, data, and skills poverty—is so essential.

Media Literacy: Addressing the Structural Roots of Exclusion

Today, the DPA is launching its Media Literacy Report, and its timing could not be more important. With continuing Government efforts to move public services online, coupled with the rapid expansion of AI usage, media literacy has never been more urgent.

The DPA report wisely moves beyond focusing solely on the visible risks of the internet, such as misinformation, and addresses the deeper structural issues. Media literacy is inextricably linked to digital exclusion: the ability to understand, interpret, and contribute in the digital age is determined by access to devices, socio-economic background, and school policy. 

  • School phone bans must be accompanied by extensive media literacy education, which is iterated and revisited at multiple stages. 
  • Teachers must receive meaningful training on media literacy. 
  • Parents must be supported by received accessible guidance on media literacy. 
  • Schools should consider peer-to-peer learning opportunities. 
  • Tech companies must disclose information on how recommendation algorithms function and select content.
  • AI generated information must be labelled as such. 
  • Verification ticks should be removed from accounts spreading misinformation, especially related to health. 

We risk consigning people to a world of second-class services if we do not provide the foundational skills required to engage critically, confidently, and safely with the online world. Crucially, the DPA’s work keeps those with lived experience of digital exclusion at the heart of the analysis, providing real-life stories from parents, teachers, and young people.

Tackling Data Poverty: The Affordability Challenge

One of the most immediate and significant barriers to inclusion is affordability—what we often refer to as data poverty. Two million households in the UK are currently struggling to pay for broadband, and Age UK hears from older people who find essential services—like checking bus times or dealing with benefits—impossible due to lack of digital confidence and the pressure to manage costs.

The current system relies heavily on broadband social tariffs as the primary fix, but uptake has been sluggish, with only 5% of eligible customers having signed up previously. This is due to confusion, low awareness, cost, and complexity.

The solution requires radical, coordinated action:

  1. Standardisation: All operators should offer social tariffs to an agreed industry standard on speed, price, and terms. This will make it easier for customers to compare and take advantage of these vital packages.
  2. Simplified Access: We welcome the work being done by the DWP to develop a consent model that uses Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to allow internet service providers (ISPs) to confirm a customer’s eligibility for benefits, such as Universal Credit. This drastically simplifies the application journey for the customer.
  3. Sustainable Funding: My colleagues in Parliament and I have been keen to explore innovative funding methods. One strong proposal is to reduce VAT on broadband social tariffs to align with other essential goods (at least 5% or 0%). It has been calculated that reinvesting the tax receipts received from VAT on all broadband into a social fund could provide an estimated £2.1 billion per year to provide all 6.8 million UK households receiving means-tested benefits with equitable access.

Creating a Systemic, Rights-Based Approach

If we are to achieve a ‘Digital Britain by 2030’, we need more than fragmented, short-term solutions. We need a systematic, rights-based approach.

First, we must demand better data and universal standards. The current definition of digital inclusion, based on whether someone has accessed the internet in the past three months, is completely outdated. We should replace this outdated ONS definition with a more holistic and up-to-date approach, such as the Minimum Digital Living Standard (MDLS). This gives the entire sector a common goal.

Second, we must formally recognize internet access as an essential utility. We should think of the internet as critical infrastructure, like the water or power system. This would ensure better consumer protection.

Third, we must embed offline and physical alternatives. While encouraging digital use, we must ensure that people who cannot or do not wish to get online—such as many older people who prefer interacting with services like banking in person—have adequate, easy-to-access, non-digital options. Essential services like telephone helplines for government services, such as HMRC, and the national broadcast TV signal must be protected so the digital divide is not widened further.

Fourth, we must empower local and community infrastructure. Tackling exclusion must happen on the ground. We need to boost digital inclusion hubs and support place-based initiatives. This involves increasing the capacity and use of libraries and community centres as digital support centres and providing free Wi-Fi provision in public spaces. 

We should stand ready to support the Government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan, but we must continue to emphasize the need for a longer-term strategy that has central oversight, such as a dedicated cross-government unit, to ensure that every policy decision is digitally inclusive from the outset.

The commitment demonstrated by the Digital Poverty Alliance today, and by everyone in this room, proves that we can and must eliminate digital poverty and ensure no one is left behind.