Table of contents:

Digital discrimination……………………………………………………….1
How and why this issue would be committed………………………………2
Rule from code of conduct………………………………………………….3
Digital Discrimination
Digital discrimination means treating individuals ethically and unfairly on the basis of their
personal data which is processed by an algorithm automatically. It is a form of direct or indirect
discrimination in which users are treated unequally based on their personal data such as gender,
age, education, religion, color, income, etc. It represents the discriminatory contents and attitude
through digital means. Digital discrimination is not represented a new reality, but it represents a
new method of expressing discriminatory content. The examples of digital discrimination include
people having low income that are targeted with high-interest loan, women being undervalued by
21% in the field of online marketing. Gender-based discriminations, online racial discriminations
such as threatening on internet, making jokes of black people on social media, racial epithets,
income-based discrimination, etc falls under digital discrimination.
In modern world, digital discrimination has become a serious issue people are facing in their day
to day life as nowadays more and more of the tasks are delegated to computers, mobile devices
and autonomous system. These kinds of discrimination is increasing highly with the increase in
use of digital/advanced technologies. It has become a rising issue nowadays that exists mainly in
depression evaluation and treatment. Digital inequalities has become a social issue rather than
technological issue.
How and why digital discrimination would be committed?
Even in such an enhanced digital world, we sometimes can hear people are discriminated on
digital environment.
Due to low Return on Investment (ROI), most of the broadband company’s projects often prefer
higher socio- economic communities rather than lower ones. Because they gets profited more in
developing communities and hence, they give them more priority.
Secondly, due to highly expensive digital computers, gadgets, services and software, it becomes
difficult to afford by the lower- economic communities. Due to this, they can’t access to the
digital world in a fulfill way. Children from such poor communities sometimes can’t even study
online just because their families can’t afford expensive digital computers or smartphones.
In modern world, from the products we buy, news we read, job we apply, decisions of such
things are increasingly delegated to digital technologies which represents increasingly use of
technologies in our daily life. Such discriminations take place in healthcare sectors too. In
hospitals, such discriminations can be seen between patients and staffs. Likewise, patients
discrimination based on their gender is also seen in healthcare centres and hospitals. So, gender
reassignment is considered to be one of the reason why this issue would be committed. For
example, when patient reveal themselves as transgender then in this case you will be treated
unfairly and lack proper healthcare service compared to other gender patients which is
considered to be discrimination due to gender reassignment. Similarly, in cases of black and
white people, maximum discrimination issues have reported in healthcare centres and hospitals
which also falls under digital discrimination. People are also discriminated on the basis of their
religion in various healthcare sectors. The way one patient with high caste is provided with better
healthcare services with proper care and advance treatment, on the other side, patient with lower
caste is treated unfairly with poor healthcare services and care which is another reason this
discrimination issue is committed.
One of the main reason behind digital discrimination is lack of proper knowledge and skills
required to access and utilize the digital technology for their benefit. Also due to the lack of
awareness lower state of mentality, some people don’t trust others for their work. They are not
aware how the discrimination can ever affect their lives. Such discriminations based on one’s
gender, color, religion, age, income, etc should be stopped because every individual is equal and
they deserve to be treated equally in each sector. Nobody have right to judge anyone on the basis
of their color, gender, income, religion, etc. Every person have full right to live their life freely
and peacefully. People practicing such discriminatory laws must be given hard punishment
according to law. For this, strict law should be made so that no one can even thinks of practicing
such discriminations.
Rule from code of conduct of digital discrimination
1) Equality and equity:
No one should be discriminated on the basis of their gender, color, age, race, religion and socio-
economic status. Every individual is equal and should be treated with equal respect and dignity.
Everyone has right to protection from any kind of violence that are caused because of people’s
race, gender, religion, property, social origin or other status. Whether a person is men, women or
transgender, black or white, poor or rich, they should get equal chance in each sector then only
our society can lead to the path of success and betterment of the nation. Likewise, in healthcare
sectors too, physicians should treat every patient with equally better healthcare services and
treatment. They should not be judged based on their personal data. For this, various awareness
programs should be conducted about the importance of equality among all. We live in a society
where men have highly access to use digital technologies but women have to face lot of struggle
to obtain internet and technology access. Such discrimination should be stopped in our society.
People’s mentality should be changed through various awareness knowledge. We must eliminate
such discriminations laws, practices and policies. Every individual has equal opportunity to live
their life freely and fullest. Equality and equity leads to empower and promote social and
economic growth of the nation.

2) Freedom of associativity:
Freedom of association is one of the basic right of human. It covers all manners of the company
that are created by citizens for the individual protection and common interests. This right have
contributed greatly to expansion of liberty and equality all over the world. In any
company/organization, each worker should be given equal right to participate freely. Every
individual should be allowed to communicate openly in their work without fear of any reprisal or
any kind of harassment. Many people have to face certain kinds of harassment in their working
field which must be stopped as every worker/individual have equal right in their sector. They
have right to associate freely in required sector. Every individual is free to form, organize and
participate in groups formally or informally.
References:
Natalia Criado(Sep 2019) (Digital discrimination) retrived from researchgate.net
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336792693_Digital_Discrimination
Social responsibility and code of conduct retrived from moveoneinc.com
https://www.moveoneinc.com/terms/Social_Responsibility_and_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
Monique Tello(Jan 16,2017) Racism and discrimination in healthcare providers and patients
retrived from health.harvard.edu
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/racism-discrimination-health-care-providers-patients-
2017011611015
Natalia CriadoJose M Such (Digital discrimination) retrived from
oxford.universitypressscholarship.com
https://www.oxford.universitypressscholarship.com//mobile/view/
10.1093/050/9780198838494.001.0001/050-9780198838494-chapter-4
Patricia Hudelson (Patients’ perception of discrimination during hospitalization) retrived from
ncbi.nih.gov
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5060520/