Is access to the internet a fundamental right?
A survey for the BBC by Globespan has shown that 87 per cent of internet users feel that access to the internet should be a fundamental right for everyone, even though everyone may not want to use it.
The survey covered some 26 countries and involved 27,000 adults. Some countries, such as Mexico, Brazil and Turkey most strongly support people having a right to Internet access.
Dr. Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said, “The right to communicate cannot be ignored. The internet is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created. … regard the internet as basic infrastructure – just like roads, waste and water. We have entered the knowledge society and everyone must have access to participate.”
Many nations face the problem of meeting the demand for internet access. UK respondents, at least some 55 per cent, believed there was a case for the government to be involved in some regulation. The problem is how much control is right.
One rapidly changing area is the influence that large companies can now have on government policy particularly as the commercial aspects of the internet mature. Through lobbying, there is the danger that a firm may be able to fight and maintain a commercial status quo, but as history shows while a company can fight off change investing in old products, eventually the market will move on and shatter the status quo. The firms that adapt and change are most likely to continue.