Is the Internet a Human Right or Privilege

[Phillyman]

I really don't believe the Internet is a human right.....Its a service that is paid for. Its really no different to me than cable TV. The last thing we need is censorship on the Internet.

Four in five adults worldwide think internet access should be a fundamental human right.

Greater freedom of speech, access to learning and the more varied forms of networking and communication were cited as reasons for the internet’s importance by the BBC-commissioned poll.

Citizens from South Korea, Mexico, China and Brazil felt most overwhelmingly that net access should be a right of all people, although countries were split over whether the service should be government-controlled, with 53% of global respondents agreeing that “the internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere”.

The survey also provided some surprising results when it came to freedom of speech. Citizens in France, Germany, the US and other western countries were found to be less keen on airing their opinions online than those China, Egypt and other countries with questionable civil liberties records. Nearly half of UK respondents disagreed that the internet was a safe place to air their views.

The results were drawn from 26 countries, where officials interviewed internet-users and non-users in urban and rural areas either face-to-face or via telephone. The survey was commissioned for a new BBC series called Superpower, which explores the growth of the internet.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/356185/the-world-says-net-is-a-human-right

[Data]

Ahh the internet. ARPAnet or Advanced Research Projects Agency Networks was designed by the US military in the late 60's to communicate long distances after a nuclear fallout.

Tim Berners-Lee was the leader of the world wide web and the co-founder of HTML. It was once believed that the internet should always be free. Aside from sales of products and services it is for the most part. Information has always been free and always will.

By law a right is something you cannot take away from an individual no matter how unscrupulous he or she is. If thought of this way then internet is a privilege. If you abuse it then it should be taken away.

It has been taken away for some. If a thief steals your stereo and sells it on Ebay, they should have their privileges taken away for a certain time. If hackers break into the bank and start messing around they also should be punished this way.

[Mister Zero]

Definitely a priveledge. I can see what they're going for, I suppose, if they mean everyone should have a chance at net access. Of course, there will be applicable fees.. So I wouldn't go as far as to call that a right. Free speech, persuit of happiness and net access!! ...?

The net needs regulated on some level; I suppose the only people with the power to do so is the government. I mean, we have to be aware of terrorism, hijacking, and abuse of all sorts somewhere along the line. If we had free reign all over the net(which we almost do anyhow), things would grow out of hand fast. I don't really like having my privacy infringed upon, but if it protects someone in the world I guess it's not the worst thing ever. I just hope we don't see the day when everything is monitored and checked up on with no warranted reason. This might already be happening, I don't know.

This being said, I don't think the almighty dollar should have such a strangehold on who gets picked out to pay the price for piracy. I understand copyright infringements but I don't think making a child pay a million or even thousand dollar settlement validates downloading a 5 minute, 5 MB song. This, to me, is a misuse and unnecessary infringement of our personal internet privacy.

[Areala]

Like driving a car, using the Internet is not a fundamental human right, though in this day and age it can be as difficult to get around in your daily life without it as it is trying to get along in a semi-major city without a car when public transit sucks. That said, while the Internet is not a "right," neither is it something to which should be subject to being revoked at the whim of someone else who may not see things the same as you do. Free speech, after all, should be a fundamental human right no matter where you live. Theory vs. practice of course are two entirely different things.

*huggles*

Areala

[E-Day]

Four in five adults worldwide don't know what a fundamental human right actually is. Freedom of speech, thought, privacy, those are fundamental human rights; not internet access. It's not even a fundamental need. Food is a fundamental need. But that still doesn't entitle you to a free meal. You are not even entitled to have a gorcery store within a certain distance of your home. So in no way should you be entitled to the availability of something as unimportant as internet access, whether it's 1mbps or even dial-up.