Should Internet Access be a Civil Right?

[DaBees-Knees]

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/89310/should-internet-access-be-a-civil-right/

In an age of growing attempts by copyright holders to implement so-called “three-strikes” legislation to deal with online piracy, some think Internet disconnection for accused file-sharers could raise concerns over the “right to freedom of expression.”

”It’s a social inclusion question,” says Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre executive director David Vaile. He warns that disconnecting people from the Internet in many ways disconnects them from society, and that particularly restrictive Australian copyright laws increases the risk that it will happen. ”The number of people who could be chucked off like this is quite huge,” he added.

Australian Human Rights Commission president Catherine Branson says the commission hasn’t considered the issue yet, but does acknowledge that Internet access may raise concerns “‘relevant to the right to freedom of expression.”

So far Internet access has been deemed a human right in Finland and Estonia, with calls in Greece and France to follow suit. Attempts do so in France may be somewhat difficult with that country having already enacted “three-strikes” legislation last September.

However, it is worth noting that France’s Constitutional Council struck down an earlier version of the law as unconstitutional, finding that the Internet is essential for the “free communication of thoughts,” and therefore full civic participation in a democratic society.

“The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man: every citizen may therefore speak, write and print freely, except to respond to the abuse of this freedom in cases determined by law ‘that the current means of communication and given the widespread development of communication services to the public line and the importance of these services for participation in democratic life and the expression of ideas and opinions, this right includes freedom to access these services,’” it wrote in its ruling.

This is what the entertainment industry and politicians either ignore or trivialize. Like it or not, Internet access, though sometimes abused, is in large part necessary for an ever increasing number of tasks and responsibilities. From filing taxes to education, from news to social networking, it’s an important part of our everyday lives that can’t simply be switched off without consequences for society.

If matched against the ills of online piracy I think society will always be better served by choosing civic participation. Internet access in the 21st century is as fundamentally important as is electricity and water.

"If matched against the ills of online piracy I think society will always be better served by choosing civic participation"

Countries that restrict their citizens ability to free speech and communication are usually classed as repressive.