A poll by the BBC has discovered that nearly 80per cent of people across the globe believe that access to the internet should be considered a human right. Querying over 26,000 individuals in 26 nations, it was discovered that both those in western countries and developing nations had the same views.
The International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) secretary-general Dr Hamadoun Toure explained “The right to communicate cannot be ignored. The internet is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created.” He added that officials should “regard the internet as basic infrastructure – just like roads, waste and water. We have entered the knowledge society and everyone must have access to participate.”
The news comes as the British government aim to bring the controversial Digital Economy Bill into effect, legislation which could in fact restrict some individuals’ internet access. Promising to provide broadband for every UK resident by 2010, the proposals also lay out plans for a “three strikes rule” for those that break internet laws and participate in illegal filesharing. It also comes on the back of new EU regulations which state any government interventions on internet access “must respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.”
Meanwhile the results from the survey showed that over 70per cent of individuals who didn’t have internet access believed it was their right to have access. Elsewhere 96per cent of South Koreans in the poll said net access was a human right, a figure backed up by 90per cent of individuals in Turkey.
