Categories: Web

United Nations: Internet access a human right but coming under threat from ‘fearful governments’

Access to the Internet is a basic human right which is coming under threat from “fearful governments”, according to a special report by the United Nations.

Fearful Governments are increasingly restricting the flow of information on the Internet due to its potential to mobilize people to challenge the status quo.”  It continues “Legitimate expression continues to be criminalized in many States, illustrated by the fact that in 2010, more than 100 bloggers were imprisoned.”

Pointing to the ‘Arab Spring ‘ seen across North Africa and the Near East Frank La Rue, the author of the report, says that while individuals are using the Internet to express their opinions governments are fighting back with “increasingly sophisticated technologies” designed to restrict access to the Internet and online content.

“In recent months, we have seen a growing movement of people around the world who are advocating for change – for justice, equality, accountability of the powerful and better respect for human rights.

However, the unique features of the Internet, which allow individuals to spread information instantly, to organize themselves, and to inform the world about situations of injustice and inequality, have also created fear among Governments and the powerful.”

His comments carry particular weight in light of the complete shutdown of the Egypt’s Internet access by the previous Egyptian Government.

La Rue’s report does not just point to less democratic states; his report says that the Internet should be especially protected, “as a catalyst for individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Internet also facilitates the realization of a range of other human rights.”

The report says that legitimate actions to restrict Internet access must be done in an open fashion, “restricting the right to freedom of expression must be applied by a body which is independent of any political, commercial, or other unwarranted influences in a manner that is neither arbitrary nor discriminatory, and with adequate safeguards against abuse, including the possibility of challenge and remedy against its abusive application.”

What this means for “Three strikes” rules, which some ISPs use to restrict or turn off Internet access for users who are suspected of illegal file sharing; or for the  provision of super injunctions is unclear; although it is likely to spark debate for supporters and opponents of net neutrality.

The report does, however, say that laws allowing some limited restrictions of Internet access, for counter-terrorism, distribution of child pornography or privacy reasons, may be justified provided they do not “criminalize expression” or are used to censor content “that the Government and other powerful entities do not like or agree with.”

The Special Report strongly recommends that governments enact laws which enshrine Internet access as a Human Right; an action several European countries, Estonia, France, Finland and Greece have already done.

Ajit Jain

Ajit Jain is marketing and sales head at Octal Info Solution, a leading iPhone app development company and offering platform to hire Android app developers for your own app development project. He is available to connect on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Recent Posts

Prezent AI on track to become to first enterprise business communication unicorn following $400m valuation

Since the moment powerful Large Language Models (LLMs) hit the market, the promise of GenAI…

11 hours ago

Walking, talking humanoid robots are coming to society in 4-5 years: WEF

Humanoid robots will be walking and talking among us in the next four or five…

4 days ago

From viewers to co-creators: How AI is changing movie marketing

In recent years, fan engagement in sports has transformed from passive viewership into immersive participation.…

5 days ago

History repeats itself: how crypto is making the same mistakes the internet did in the ’90s

Back in 1990, the internet faced a major problem that we don’t regard as relevant…

5 days ago

Google’s Prem Ramaswami on why we’re still in the early days of large language models

Today, I’m talking to Prem Ramaswami, the Head of Data Commons at Google. Prem and his team recently…

5 days ago

‘New Cyber Order’ is here, every human identity will have 80 agentic AI identities: WEF

Small businesses and govts will need a type of Digital Public Infrastructure [digital ID, fast…

7 days ago