Is it time to consider right to internet access as relevant as the right to free speech? Countries such as France and Finland agree. Access to the internet has been made a fundamental right so people have access to information and expression via this rolling mode of communication. As internet becomes a day-to-day part of our lives, it seems important to consider it a human right. Internet is a legal right in France and Greece, while it is a human right in Finland and Estonia.

The BBC World Service conducted a survey to know what people think of this technological advancement becoming a right. Interestingly, four in five respondents agreed that web access is a fundamental right. As many as 90% of respondents thought the Internet was “a great place to learn”, while 78% of the people considered it a source of “greater freedom.” A little more than half the population thought the Internet should not even be regulated by government.

Strangely, responses also varied depending on their geography. So while people from the United States, Mexico, Nigeria and South Korea largely agreed that the Internet should not be regulated, respondents from countries like China, Pakistan and Turkey thought some regulation was required over freedom to access the internet.

Countries that can claim fast and continual broadband access have a strong reason to believe that the internet can change their life and sensibilities. But with countries such as India, where intermittent access to the internet is a given, it might not be so. The internet has grown to be a part of our everyday lives and is vital as a medium of instruction. Freedom to access the internet is likely to bring down the digital divide for a country like India. But to consider it a right is more a matter of law than society. With TRAI still struggling to provide impeccable broadband access across the country, how
much of a right it can be for India is an issue we are yet to sort out.

The undeniable fact is that as Internet use becomes integral to our everyday routine, access to the internet should be legally protected. This is broadly the opinion of technology experts who agree that internet can be considered a human right to make society a more inclusive set up.

Internet access has become integral to the way we live and express. This makes it a primary issue of our life and therefore, a legal or possibly human right.