Yesterday morning, at the opening session of the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference, Susan Crawford of the Obama administration, kicked off the presentations with a striking anecdote. recent article in the Wall Street Journal quoting 37-year-old homeless man Charles Pitts:

“You don’t need a TV. You don’t need a radio. You don’t even need a newspaper. But you need the Internet.”

– On the Street and On Facebook: The Homeless Stay Wired by Phred Dvorak

What do you think? Seems pretty accurate, but the Internet can also be found in many places. And people in much of the world, I could see the statement being phrased differently.

“You don’t need a TV. You don’t need a radio. You don’t even need a computer. But you do need a mobile phone.”