Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
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Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#2The concept of "rights" is growing less useful, I fear.
Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#3The concept of "rights" is growing less useful, I fear.
The resolution doesn't seem to say "Everyone should get free Internet." It says something to the effect of "Restricting people's online expression is a violation of their rights," condemning what Syria or Egypt's governments did when they shut down Internet to prevent citizens from coordinating revolutionary activities.
Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#4The concept of "rights" is growing less useful, I fear.
No it isn't. The point isn't that you should get free internet--the point is that a government should not prevent you from freely using the internet. This is no different from a right to, say, travel.
The internet is particularly important because it is very good for getting a message out to the world at large. Other existing channels tend to be more difficult to use or more limited. The internet lets people document current events first-hand without having to rely on reporters or news organizations.
So there are definitely some completely rational and practical reasons to declare internet access an international right, at the very least as a check against oppressive government.
Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#5The concept of "rights" is growing less useful, I fear.
The resolution doesn't seem to say "Everyone should get free Internet." It says something to the effect of "Restricting people's online expression is a violation of their rights," condemning what Syria or Egypt's governments did when they shut down Internet to prevent citizens from coordinating revolutionary activities.
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Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#6The concept of "rights" is growing less useful, I fear.
The resolution doesn't seem to say "Everyone should get free Internet." It says something to the effect of "Restricting people's online expression is a violation of their rights," condemning what Syria or Egypt's governments did when they shut down Internet to prevent citizens from coordinating revolutionary activities.
They might as well just say "freedom of expression".
Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
The resolution doesn't seem to say "Everyone should get free Internet." It says something to the effect of "Restricting people's online expression is a violation of their rights," condemning what Syria or Egypt's governments did when they shut down Internet to prevent citizens from coordinating revolutionary activities.
They might as well just say "freedom of expression".
I'm not sure that protection an individuals freedom to express themselves necessarily entails protection of the transport of encodings of that expression - I would rather see that latter protection made explicit.
Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#8The concept of "rights" is growing less useful, I fear.
One distinction philosophers make is "positive" (freedom of) vs. "negative" (freedom from) liberty.
If you take this as the former, then perhaps I agree. But I suspect this was intended to be the latter -- i.e. freedom from ignorance.
Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#9The concept of "rights" is growing less useful, I fear.
As someone who was once banned from the Internet by the US gov't[1], I actually agree with you. People throw around terms like "human right" without knowing what it means. If access to the Internet is a human right, that means every human in the world should be able to demand access to the Internet?
I think the Internet absolutely should receive First Amendment protection in the US (and the US Supreme Court agrees), but calling it a human right doesn't seem to agree with the definition[2]. I'd love to hear arguments for the other side.
Note that this doesn't mean I think governments should be able to actively deny individuals access to the Internet, but a Constitutional right is not the same as a human right.
Re: Internet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
#10Just who is going to use violence against whom so that whose rights are not violated?