Who should get to use the internet?

24 Replies Christopher Roberts

I was reading an article the other day about whether people should ever be ‘cut off’ from the internet.


This got me thinking.

  • The right to have privacy
  • The right to live/exist
  • The right to have a family
  • The right to work for anyone
  • The right to free speech
  • The right to equal rights
  • The right to think freely
  • et cetera, et cetera…

Recognise any of them? They are some of the current human rights. They are the fundamental things that most countries around the world believe you should be entitled to. But, should the right to internet access if you want it become a human right?


The United Nations logo

The United Nations logo

If so this would probably only be passed as a human in more developed countries, but should it be someone’s human right to have access to the internet?

Obviously I am not on about technical glitches, but many governments can cut you off if they want, and in fact many do if you continually break copyright laws.

The internet is a fantastic method for self expression and communication, can we really take such a tool away from people?

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Written by Christopher Roberts
Founder and editor of Technology Bloggers, Christopher is passionate about sustainable technology and environmental initiatives. He wants to popularise critical thinking, promote responsible innovation, and excite you about the world around us.

24 thoughts on “Who should get to use the internet?”

  1. DiNaRa

    We should have the right to access the Internet. I know that in some countries government can cut off the internet access only because they want like this without any good reasons. The world is so big and different.

    Reply
    • Christopher (admin team)

      I know what you mean DiNaRa, and the thing is, can you really every completely sever any links someone may have to the internet?

      Reply
  2. Alan Tay@it security

    My country is one of the example of cutting internet to certain sites like torrent and file sharing. Still not as bad as China though, as China actually blocked blogspot, facebook, friendster and many social network. I do feel every individual should have their freedom to internet usage.

    Reply
    • Christopher (admin team)

      If you took that right away from the ‘western world’ many people would loose their jobs and some would probably loose their minds!

      Social media is a very lucrative industry, so why do some countries block it?

      Is freedom for all not best?

      Reply
      • Elephant's Eye

        Politics privacy power. It has been interesting to see, in the last few months, how much information still gets out and in, despite attempts to block it.

        Look at a world map of your readers, or a day night map – and see how the balance is tipped in favour of the north against the south, then the west against most of the east – for lights on after dark. A very clear indication of electrical power and a society with financial access to computers/cell phones for the internet.

        Reply
        • Christopher (admin team)

          “It has been interesting to see, in the last few months, how much information still gets out and in, despite attempts to block it. “ – Tunisia, Egypt, Libya etc are all great examples of this.

          I never thought of looking at our traffic stats in such a way Diana, that’s a great idea!

          Thanks for the comments 🙂
          Christopher – Admin Team

          Reply
  3. Martin@CDL Practice Test

    The thing with too much freedom is that it destroys the mind. I don’t believe humans are built to do whatever they want. Look at kids taking a gun and entering schools shooting. And that’s with laws.
    But right now the internet has close to zero laws, we’re just beginning in that area. And this led to an increase in pedophilia, adult material, violence.
    Off course, this is just an observation, i do like my freedom on the internet 🙂

    Reply
    • Christopher (admin team)

      I know what you mean Martin, the only problem is it’s almost impossible to police! Even sites like YouTube struggle to regulate their own content 😛

      BTW, changed a word or two in your comments to less ‘frank’ words, as I would rather that words like those you had written did not appear on this blog.

      Reply
  4. David@offshore software development

    The last time the internet was shut down in a country (Egypt), the govt. collapsed !!
    Talk about using internet as a human right.
    I don’t think using the internet will ever become a part of human rights because it ALREADY is.
    Communication in any form, is the birth right of every human being. And as most of the people in the world these days use the internet for qualitative communication, the few perverted who watch porn don’t matter.

    Reply
  5. Maria Pavel@Become CNA

    Christopher : I can’t agree that the access to the Internet should be a human right. Yes, modern life seems kind of impossible without it, but I would vote against internet being declared a human right 🙂 Just my opinion of course

    Reply
    • Christopher (admin team)

      I was never saying that it should be, merely asking your opinion – which you have given 🙂

      Thanks for your input Maria 🙂
      Christopher – Admin Team

      Reply
  7. Amit

    The government can do anything it wants, you can see this if you take a look in the newspapers, websites get blocked, people get cut off, but can we really do something about it? That’s the real question. If we were to live in China we’d just drown our sorrows by watching tv instead. But since we don’t live in China, we need to be strong and keep the government in check, we can’t allow it to take any measures that could lead to limiting our freedom.

    Reply
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