Indeed, the building attracted a population deemed undesirable by local residents and municipal councillors. To the great despair of some, who regret the loss of one of the establishment’s most precious services.
It is perhaps hard to imagine a world without guaranteed Internet access everywhere. However, between the white areas that remain, even in the most developed regions, and the cuts made during conflicts or repressions, many people find themselves cut off from the rest of the world (at least, from the one that is connected). Among them are the poorest, for whom access to a public and free Wi-Fi network is essential to their survival.
Pests attracted to light
Starting in the summer of 2022, a library in San Francisco’s District 8 decided to shut down access to its after-hours Wi-Fi. If this decision could have been made by a zealous employee, determined to eliminate all unnecessary energy consumption, it actually comes from the neighbors of the establishment.
Indeed, the latter would have declared that the Wi-Fi of the library attracted an undesirable population: “ Why are vagabonds and drug addicts so drawn to the library? Wi-Fi is free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! City councilors have received numerous emails from residents complaining about outdoor drug use and crowded sidewalks. This led to the decision to limit the hours of access to the library’s wireless network.
But beyond the homeless used to using the network, some activists and residents have also expressed their disagreement. About fifty of them tried to convince the establishment to backtrack, in vain. However, field studies carried out in 2017 and 2021 by local elected officials and the library had estimated that cutting off Wi-Fi would not reduce crime in the neighborhood.
Internet: a basic need?
However, as reported The Verge, San Francisco libraries have a reputation for being homeless-friendly, going so far as to hire specialists to offer assistance. Allowing free, constant Internet access would be a continuation of this approach, and the District 8 library is currently the only one in the city that has moved in the opposite direction.
At the beginning of the year, the library began to receive new complaints, this time requesting the reversal of its decision. The author of one of them says: I worry about my friend […], the free Wi-Fi is his only way to reach me or access emergency services. The friend in question does not have access to a cellular network.
But for some, the establishment is failing in its primary mission by cutting off its Wi-Fi. Indeed, Internet access is a major tool in access to knowledge, just like the books that a public library makes available to everyone. In addition, offering free Internet access is a very good way to reduce the digital divide, which ironically continues to widen in the region of origin of many Web giants.
Source : The Verge
28