디지털 시대의 소외와 포용, 그리고 공법적 대응

With the development of information and communication technology(ICT), the era of digital transformation has arrived, in which economic and social structures are rapidly changing. This paper first examined the digital divide, digital exclusion, digital competency and digital literacy issues according to digital transformation, and then reviewed the concept, necessity, and content of digital inclusion, as well as related policies and public legal responses to overcome them. The skills required in the digital environment include not only the ability to use digital devices, but also the ability to seek credible information from a critical standpoint and use it to benefit one’s life. In particular, it is necessary to ensure that people from the information vulnerable or underprivileged have the ability to use this digital environment appropriately. Therefore, digital inclusion is a necessary policy to enable all members of society, especially the socially marginalized, to use the digital environment appropriately in the digital society. In other words, digital inclusion is a social effort to ensure that everyone has equal access, opportunities and skills to benefit from digital technologies and systems. Under this premise, in order to achieve digital inclusion, it can be said that the active public legislation and policies are needed so that the people can use their digital capabilities in a digital environment where digital divides and digital exclusion occur. If digital polarization prevails as the digital divide and digital exclusion deepens amid digital inequality, social anxiety factors increase, causing various social problems, and social integration and sustainable development may reach the limit. Even the vulnerable should have an appropriate level of digital competency, and to reduce the digital divide, laws and policies for effective digital inclusion should be prepared and concrete and practical digital inclusion should be realized.