[JURIST] A third fewer women than men lack Internet access in the world’s poorest countries—a gap that is set to widen, according to a report released Tuesday by the poverty rights organization One [advocacy website]. The report [text], released at the Web Summit [website] in Lisbon, the largest tech event in Europe, shows a trend in recent years, noting “the digital gender gap in Africa rose to 23% in 2016 from just below 21% in 2013.” This trend “suggests that the gender connectivity gap could grow to over 26% by 2020.” The International Telecommunication Union [website] places Internet accessibility at 47 percent of the world’s population. This means that 3.9 billion people do not have access. The One report shows that Africa has the largest gap, yet throughout the entire world, men have greater access compared to women. According to the report, women having could help raise income, provide better health care and provide better support for families. The One organization, which was co-founded by Bono [profile], focuses on tackling extreme poverty.

Internet freedom [JURIST backgrounder] remains an important global issue, with some countries accused of suppressing speech online. Earlier this week China passed a controversial cybersecurity law [JURIST report]. In 2012 the UN passed a resolution to protect speech of individuals online [JURIST report].