Bridging the Digital Divide: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Digital Literacy and Equity in the EU

Digital literacy is essential for meaningful participation in society, extending beyond technical skills to encompass critical competencies such as data privacy and online information navigation. However, current policies often prioritize infrastructure expansion over digital education, leading to increased digital vulnerability. A legally grounded, literacy-focused strategy is crucial for closing the digital gap and ensuring equitable digital participation. This chapter investigates the digital divide through a legal and human rights-based lens, exploring the intersection of digital rights, literacy, and equity. It addresses key questions: What are individuals’ evolving digital rights in the digital era? What core digital literacy skills are necessary to exercise these rights? And how can legal and policy frameworks shape effective and inclusive digital literacy training programs? It employs a theory-building methodology to build a human rights-based framework to mitigate digital exclusion. The framework critically examines international and European Union (EU) digital rights legislation, evaluates state and corporate obligations, and advocates for regulatory approaches that integrate digital literacy as a fundamental right.