As the internet and social media become increasingly embedded in how we connect with and understand the world around us, so does the language we use to access that experience. Today the UN argues that speakers of non-dominant languages need to be able to express themselves online in culturally meaningful ways, and urges governments to develop comprehensive language-related policies that support and facilitate online linguistic diversity and multilingualism. "The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow," said Bill Gates. But if the vast majority of the world's languages don't have a digital future, what will speakers have to sacrifice to be heard in the "digital town square"? Closing the digital divide clearly has huge potential to empower individuals around the world.