Discriminatory digital policies that marginalise Roma communities

The Center for Civil and Human Rights are taking litigation to challenge the disparate impact felt by some groups in Slovakia, in particular the Romani minority, due to unequal access to digital technologies. The Center will initiate court proceedings to draw attention to discrimination in this area.

Existing inequalities in this area have been increasingly discussed in Slovak society, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, during the pandemic it was found that Roma children were disadvantaged by a move to online distance learning, while Roma communities and the elderly were disadvantaged by the lack of non-digital alternatives to register for the COVID-19 vaccination.

In November 2022, a Romani girl from a marginalised community in Jarovnice brought a lawsuit against the Slovak Republic, supported by the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

On 6 November 2023, a District Court ruled in her favour, stating that the government had discriminated against the plaintiff in access to education on the grounds of her social origin, property, and Romani ethnic origin and had also violated her right to access to information. Further, it held that the government had failed to take appropriate measures, including the provision of access to the internet and digital technologies, to ensure equal access to education during the interruption of full-time education during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Court also ordered the government to pay compensation to the girl in the amount of €3,000.

The Center for Civil and Human Rights state “The Court’s decision is groundbreaking, as it is the first decision in the “digital divide” case not only in Slovakia but also in Europe.”