Organisations file complaint against Belgium for deepening digital inequality
www.edf-feph.org
We joined a group of organisations led by Unia and the Combat Poverty Service in filing a collective complaint against Belgium for making essential services inaccessible to people unable to use digital devices. The complaint was filed with the European Committee of Social Rights, which oversees States' compliance with the European Social Charter. What is...

I don’t have a link to the full complaint but I heard it’s around 80 pages.

  • FreddiesLantern@leminal.space
    2·
    5 days ago

    I had no idea this was becoming a thing but deff worth bringing up!

    (I mean the general push towards all digital means is pretty apparent, but I always expected there to be a bare minimum accessibility outside of it even if it’s a kiosk at the local town hall or such)

    • autonomousPunk@belgae.socialOP
      1·
      4 days ago

      I would like to see the complaint, which I heard was like 80 pages.

      What stands out for me was going to a commune to simply ask for a permit to reserve street parking in front of the house for workers. Commune staff pointed to a sign with a QR code. Not even a kiosk. I’m like, WTF, how do I pay cash? ¯\(ツ)/¯ (said the commune worker). I could have written down the URL and then visited it from a public library, but cash payers are wholly excluded, hard and fast.

      There are some government forms that /require/ an email address. No email → no service.

      I could probably add about 80 or so pages to whatever that complaint says, with a focus on situations of cash refusal which discriminates against the unbanked.

      Worth noting that there is a Techno Critique Club that I believe meets every Thursday at 18h30 at Rue de l’Association 20.