U.N. Report Declares Internet Access a Human Right

[Alan]

A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law.

The report railed against France and the United Kingdom, which have passed laws to remove accused copyright scofflaws from the internet. It also protested blocking internet access to quell political unrest (.pdf).

While blocking and filtering measures deny users access to specific content on the Internet, states have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur considers cutting off users from internet access, regardless of the justification provided, including on the grounds of violating intellectual property rights law, to be disproportionate and thus a violation of article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The report continues:

The Special Rapporteur calls upon all states to ensure that Internet access is maintained at all times, including during times of political unrest. In particular, the Special Rapporteur urges States to repeal or amend existing intellectual copyright laws which permit users to be disconnected from Internet access, and to refrain from adopting such laws.

The report, by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, comes the same day an internet-monitoring firm detected that two thirds of Syria’s internet access has abruptly gone dark, in what is likely a government response to unrest in that country.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...a-human-right/


Every day I increasingly wanna be an advocate for internet rights in the international setting, and this initiative comes at the right time.

[HumanePain]

One would think that this would be protected under Freedom of Speech in the U.S. Easy to defend.

[CptSternn]

https://www.gothic.net/boards/showthread.php?t=24897

I posted that days ago sure.

[Alan]

Didn't see it, sorry man. Either way this ain't spooky news. It's downright talk about the context and evolution of human rights.

[Grausamkeit]

Next thing we know cell phones are going to be a 'basic human right'. Where do people draw the line between luxuries and 'rights'?

[Alan]

Access to information IS a human right. In this world having internet access is not like having a phone, it's like having electricity.

[Grausamkeit]

Originally Posted by Alan

Access to information IS a human right. In this world having internet access is not like having a phone, it's like having electricity.

I can understand it in that context.

[Saya]

Plus, internet blockouts, The Great Firewall Of China, etc, is used to try and control information access and opinion sharing and crush activism and dissidence. If internet access is viewed as a right, a government wouldn't have the right to do that when things aren't going their way.

[HumanePain]

Like the freedom advertised in the U.S. an open internet will have to tolerate what comes with that freedom: cyber attacks, bandwidth congestion, spam etc. Some control is needed, just like total freedom does not exist in the U.S. so that crime can be limited and some safety provided.

[CptSternn]

It's not a right like some people are thinking. It is not something with which someone has to provide for you, but something that is yours ab initio and no one has the right to take away from you, like your life. It would be governed much in the same way you handle land. The government doesn't owe you land, but once you have it certain rights apply.