DNS Dependencies as an Expression of the Digital Divide: The Example of Australia

This paper investigates the relationship between the digital divide, Internet transparency, and DNS dependencies. The term "digital divide" refers to a gap between how different population groups can access and use digital technology, with disadvantaged groups generally having less access than others. Internet transparency refers to efforts that reveal and understand critical dependencies on the Internet. DNS is a vital service in the Internet infrastructure. It has become common for network and website operators to outsource the operation of their DNS services to a (limited) number of specialized DNS providers. Depending on the choice of provider, a network or site may achieve better or worse availability, especially under adversarial conditions (power outages, attacks, etc.). This work-in-progress paper analyzes DNS provisioning and dependencies for Australian government websites to identify a possible digital divide. More specifically, we investigate setups with respect to potential drawbacks in terms of availability or domestic control over the setup. We choose sites whose audience is primarily the indigenous population and sites that target the broader, general population. We can indeed identify differences between the DNS dependencies, in particular with respect to the use of hyperscalers, domestic vs. international providers, and dedicated government infrastructure. The implications for availability and control are more subtle and require further investigation. However, our results show that Internet measurement can detect signals of possible digital divides, and we believe this aspect should be added to the Internet transparency agenda.