In the very near future, will internet-access become recognized as a basic human right?
From Internet: Knowledge and Community
Since so many aspects of daily life have been digitized, from communicating with each other to getting the news to paying our bills to getting an education, will access to the internet would become not a luxury but a human right.
As it turns out, according to Wikipedia: "The United Nations has proposed that Internet access should be a human right. This push was made when it called for universal access to basic communication and information services at the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination. In 2003, during the World Summit on the Information Society, another claim for this was made. In some countries such as Estonia, France, Finland, and Greece, Internet access has already been made a human right." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_access)
Even with this information, I still wonder what the repercussions of it becoming a human right will be, and when other nations will follow in recognizing it as such.
~Liz Kenoyer
It does seem like this will inevitably become a big issue as more and more things are digitized. The part that seems confusing to me is how can something so logistically difficult be a human right? I am definitely in favor of the freedom of information (which includes access to it). But, I don't know how something like free broadband for everyone could be realized in today's world of big business.
Portland, OR, tried to blanket the city with free wi-fi starting in 2005, but was unable to complete the project. A few quick web articles show how business interests and lack of municipal funding ended the effort (http://www.muniwireless.com/2008/07/14/portland-oregon-has-wi-fi-and-wimax-alternative-to-metrofi/ , http://www.betanews.com/article/In-Portland-Oregon-another-citywide-WiFi-network-bites-the-dust/1203720913 , & http://www.pdc.us/unwire/newsroom.asp).
It seems interesting to me to turn this question around and ask if it is legitimate for us to continue digitizing information and computerizing how the world gets its data when this practice creates a large barrier for those without the means to utilize and access ever increasing technological dependence.
At, http://diriwa.org/wiki/Sweden: "The Swedish state has an obligation to make sure all citizens have access to basic telephony and internet services, but after the privatization of the former state monopoly and all its infrastructure there is no method of which the state can live up to that obligation."--Barste20 17:18, 10 January 2011 (UTC)
We might be living in something of a golden age right now regarding the Internet. It seems like the gap is closing as far as who has access (in this country that is; in other parts of the world, particularly lesser developed nations, it's often a different story), I think another question is how long will it continue to be such a free flow of information? Say universal Internet access became a reality, aren't we still bound to witness increasing regulation? It just seems like eventually something like the FCC will crack down and the Internet as we know and love it will never be the same. Are we headed toward a world where everybody has access...but only to what they're allowed to see? What can people do to keep the flow of information free on the Internet?
I hope that the pendulum hasn't swung too far for us to go back. I'm still optimistic and excited about the future of the internet and the ways in which it does and can positively affect culture and communities, especially marginalized communities and small sub-cultures. But I think protecting what we have now, even/especially by means of government regulations, is the only way to keep what we have come to value and to progress toward an even more open digital space. I think wi-fi will continue to grow and become less protected and more open in a lot of the western world. At least I think it would be an excellent addition to a countries commons. Paid for, possibly, with Tax Revenue, much like Public Libraries. Setting up a public connection with a minimum level of service guarantee and then having people pay for faster more feature packed services might be an idea.
Comcast and NBC Universal just completed a merger with 51% of NBC now owned by Comcast. As part of approving this deal, the US Government required Comcast to provide high speed internet to 25 million low income households and provide computers and or laptops for $150.00. They also have to provide "digital literacy opportunities" to customers as well. The upside to these new regulations for Comcast is that they will be to expand their business, the downside is a cable/internet provider just became a hardware dealer and educator which is not their core capability. This could have some unintended consequences. Hoyle Hodges
But what about North Korea? Should someone interfere to give them the basic human right of having Internet?
