The rapid digitisation of essential services in the UK is deepening inequalities for minoritised ethnic communities, a major three-year research project has found.
Without careful design, online services risk excluding those already facing digital exclusion, language barriers and systemic discrimination, according to the Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online (PRIME) study, which publishes a series of policy briefs, a Code of Practice and videos in multiple languages alongside a suite of free-to-use technological tools - today.
Led by Professor Gina Netto of Heriot-Watt University, the interdisciplinary research team examined the impact of digitalisation on healthcare, housing, and energy services across the UK.
Conducted in four locations - Bradford, Manchester, Glasgow and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets - the study highlights the particular issues that minoritised ethnic communities face when essential services move largely online.
Researchers found that poorly designed digital platforms, combined with a lack of support and inadequate regulatory oversight, could further marginalise vulnerable groups.
“While digital technology has enormous potential, it can also entrench existing inequalities,” said Professor Netto, Professor in International Migration and Racial Justice, at Heriot-Watt University’s School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society.
“For those with limited English proficiency, digital literacy or access to adequate digital devices and internet connectivity, the barriers to navigating online systems can be insurmountable. And in areas like healthcare, where privacy and human interaction are crucial, over-reliance on digital services can actually create harm.”
Online harms and regulatory failures
The study points to major gaps in how digital services are designed and regulated. In all three sectors investigated, there is little regulatory oversight of how minoritised ethnic households engage with digital services.
In healthcare, for example, multiple regulatory bodies oversee digital systems, yet there is no clear framework to ensure fair access for minority ethnic communities. Many struggle to book appointments or access records online and there is little accountability for how digital inequalities affect health outcomes.
Colin Lee, Chief Executive of the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO) Scotland, welcomed the research project’s findings. He said:
“Digital services can reinforce discrimination through exclusionary design, biased algorithms and lack of sensitivity to the formidable challenges that minoritised ethnic communities face. If we don’t address these issues, we risk deepening inequalities and losing out on valuable opportunities to help them benefit from these essential services.”
New tools for a fairer digital future
In response, the PRIME team has developed a Code of Practice for service designers, urging them to embed racial and linguistic inclusivity into their platforms. It has also published a series of policy briefs directed at the health, housing and energy sectors. New, multi-lingual videos — aimed at minoritised ethnic communities — will help to raise awareness of online harms and the actions that they can take to create safer online spaces.
The team has also created a suite of free-to-use technology tools, to counter discriminatory processes in digital services.
Professor Lynne Baillie, Professor of Computer Science, in Heriot-Watt University’s School of Mathematical & Computer Sciences who led the technological aspect of the project, emphasised the importance of proactive solutions: “We need digital tools that don’t just work for the most privileged, but for everyone. Our suite of privacy-enhancing tools provides practical solutions for more equitable digitalisation.”
For example the PersonaCreator app, created by the research team, uses machine learning techniques on survey data to create personas of people from minority ethnic communities. These personas depict how people from these communities feel or experience various online harms, discrimination and bias while using digital services related to health, energy and social housing.
Global application
The PRIME team trained their machine learning algorithms on the PRIME survey and a survey from the UK Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity. Any survey anywhere in the world that collects similar, tabular data regarding ethnicity can potentially be used by researchers and organisations to populate the PersonaCreator app, revealing issues around digital services for minoritised communities in their location.
Next steps
As the UK and devolved governments push forward with digital transformation, researchers and community advocates are calling for urgent policy changes. Without robust regulation and inclusive design, the benefits of digital public services will remain out of reach for many.
“The shift online must not leave people behind,” Professor Netto said. “We need a fundamental change which puts digital inclusion at the heart of service design and actively uses digital services to address existing inequalities.”
The full findings and policy recommendations from the PRIME project, together with all the free-to-use technological tools developed by the team are available at https://www.primecommunities.online/