Connectivity and Inequality: The African Internet

When web use started becoming commonplace in the mid-1990’s, the consensus seemed to be that the Internet was a tool that could bring democratic rights to the people, without government filtering or control. The information revolution became the hope of many – especially intellectuals – who saw the new communication practices as a possible gateway to broader, more equal distribution of information. The most enthusiastic of the internet-as-democratic-tool set were hoping for information revolutions all over the world, including communications-challenged areas such as Africa.