Digital literacy in Birmingham: The promise, the risks, and the ethical questions we can't ignore

Birmingham City Council this week announced a £2.3 million expansion of its digital inclusion program, bringing free coding workshops and internet access points to 12 libraries across the city, including the newly refurbished Hall Green Library and the Sparkbrook Community Centre. But as officials tout the promise of closing the digital divide, a quieter debate is unfolding among local educators and privacy advocates about the risks that come with rushing online.

Who gets left behind?

The council's program, set to launch in September 2026, aims to train 8,000 adults in basic digital literacy by the end of the year. Participants will learn everything from sending emails to spotting phishing scams and using government services like Universal Credit applications. But at a July 9 meeting in the Birmingham Council House, councillors heard that nearly one in five households in wards such as Aston and Handsworth still lack any home internet connection-a figure that rises to one in three among residents over 75.

The problem isn't just access. "Digital literacy isn't just about knowing which button to click," said a local volunteer coordinator at the Stirchley-based nonprofit Birmingham Tech Trust, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It's about understanding what happens to your data when you click it." The Trust recently ran a pilot program in Small Heath where participants were asked to sign up for a free council email service. Several later reported receiving targeted ads from debt collection agencies-a reminder that free digital tools often come with hidden costs.

Meanwhile, at the Eastside City Park campus of Birmingham City University, researchers are studying how misinformation spreads through local WhatsApp groups. A preliminary study released last month found that 42% of false health claims shared in Birmingham's South Asian community groups originated from a single, now-deleted Facebook page. "Once it's in the chat, it's gone faster than you can fact-check it," said the study's lead, whose name is not being published due to security concerns.

Ethical pitfalls in a hurry

The urgency to get citizens online is understandable. In June 2026, the government announced that by 2028, all jobcentre appointments in Birmingham will be digital-only. That means anyone without basic digital skills could lose access to benefits. But critics argue that a rushed rollout risks creating a two-tier system: those who can afford private, secure devices and training, and those who must rely on public terminals with unpredictable privacy protections.

At the Birmingham Central Library on Chamberlain Square, the free computer terminals now require a login using a mobile phone number. For users without a phone-an estimated 15,000 people in the city, according to a 2025 city council audit-that means no access at all. "We're essentially requiring a device to get a device," said a library staffer who asked their name be withheld due to a pending public comment policy update.

In response, the council announced a pilot scheme in partnership with the charity Digital Birmingham: 500 refurbished tablets will be distributed through the Ladywood Community Centre and the Kingstanding Library starting in October 2026. But recipients must agree to a data-sharing agreement with the program's corporate sponsor, a telecommunications firm with a history of selling anonymized user data. The local branch of the Birmingham Digital Rights Alliance has called for a public consultation, but none has been scheduled.

Next steps for the city

The council's digital inclusion officer, in a statement issued Wednesday, said that a full privacy impact assessment will be published on the Birmingham City Council website by August 1. They also announced a series of drop-in sessions at the Moseley Exchange and the Erdington Community Hub between August 15 and September 10, where residents can ask questions about the program's data policies.

For Birmingham residents, the practical advice is simple but harder to follow: before signing up for any free digital literacy course, ask who is providing the equipment, what data they collect, and how long they keep it. The promise of a connected city is real-but the ethical questions attached to it are not going away.