In December 2003 theWorld Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was convened under the auspice of theUnited Nations (UN). After lengthy negotiations between governments, businesses and civil society representatives the WSIS Declaration of Principles was adopted[8] reaffirminghuman rights:[8]
We reaffirm the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including theright to development, as enshrined in theVienna Declaration. We also reaffirm thatdemocracy,sustainable development, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as good governance at all levels are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. We further resolve to strengthen the rule of law in international as in national affairs.
We reaffirm, as an essential foundation of the Information Society, and as outlined in Article 19 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; that this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Communication is a fundamental social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social organisation. It is central to the Information Society. Everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to participate and no one should be excluded from the benefits of the Information Society offers.
The 2004 WSIS Declaration of Principles also acknowledged the need to prevent the use of information and technologies for criminal purposes, while respecting human rights.[9] Wolfgang Benedek comments that the WSIS Declaration only contains a number of references to human rights and does not spell out any procedures or mechanism to assure that human rights are considered in practice.[10]
Internet Bill of Rights and Charter on Internet Rights and Principles (2007-2010)
The Dynamic Coalition for an Internet Bill of Rights held a large preparatory Dialogue Forum on Internet Rights in Rome, September 2007 and presented its ideas at theInternet Governance Forum (IGF) in Rio in November 2007 leading to a joint declaration on internet rights.[11]At the IGF in Hyderabad in 2008 a merger between the Dynamic Coalitions on Human Rights for the Internet and on Principles for the Internet led to the Dynamic Coalition on Internet Rights and Principles, which based on the APC Internet Rights Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights elaborated the Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet presented at the IGF in Vilnius in 2010, which since has been translated into several languages.
John Harrington dismissed the impact the GNI as a voluntary code of conduct, calling instead for bylaws to be introduced that force boards of directors to accept human rights responsibilities.[15]
67. Unlike any other medium, the Internet enables individuals to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds instantaneously and inexpensively across national borders. By vastly expanding the capacity of individuals to enjoy their right to freedom of opinion and expression, which is an "enabler" of other human rights, the Internet boosts economic, social and political development, and contributes to the progress of humankind as a whole...
79. The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to ensure that Internet access is maintained at all times, including during times of political unrest.
The United Nations Human Rights Council declaredinternet freedom a Human Right in 2012.[19]
Several countries and unions have laws dealing with digital rights:
Costa Rica: A 30 July 2010 ruling by the Supreme Court of Costa Rica gave the fundamental right of access to digital technologies, especially the Internet.[20]
Estonia: In 2000, the parliament launched a massive program to expand internet access to the countryside, arguing that it is essential for life in the 21st century.[21]
Finland: By July 2010, every person in Finland was to have access to a one-megabit per second broadband connection, according to theMinistry of Transport and Communications. And by 2015, access to a 100 Mbit/s connection.[23]
France: In June 2009, theConstitutional Council, France's highest court, declared access to the Internet to be a basic human right in a strongly-worded decision that struck down portions of theHADOPI law, a law that would have tracked abusers and without judicial review and automatically cut off network access to those who continued to download illicit material after two warnings[24]
Greece: Article 5A of theConstitution of Greece states that all persons have the right to participate in theInformation Society and that the state has an obligation to facilitate the production, exchange, diffusion, and access to electronically transmitted information.[25]
Spain: Starting in 2011,Telefónica, the formerstate monopoly that holds the country's "universal service" contract, has to guarantee to offer "reasonably" priced broadband of at least one megabyte per second throughout Spain.[26]
A poll of 27,973 adults in 26 countries, including 14,306 Internet users,[28] was conducted for theBBC World Service by the international polling firmGlobeScan using telephone and in-person interviews between 30 November 2009 and 7 February 2010. GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller interpreted the results as showing that people around the world see access to the internet as their fundamental right, a force for good, and most do not want governments to regulate it.[29]
Nearly four in five (78%) Internet users felt that the Internet had brought them greater freedom.
Users in Europe and China were more supportive towards regulation of the internet by the government than those in South Korea or Nigeria.
Opinion was evenly split between Internet users who felt that "the internet is a safe place to express my opinions" (48%) and those who disagreed (49%).
The aspects of the Internet that cause the most concern include:fraud (32%), violent and explicit content (27%), threats toprivacy (20%), statecensorship of content (6%), and the extent of corporate presence (3%).
Almost four in five Internet users and non-users around the world felt that access to the Internet was a fundamental right (50% strongly agreed, 29% somewhat agreed, 9% somewhat disagreed, 6% strongly disagreed, and 6% gave no opinion).[30]
Internet Society's Global Internet User Survey (2012)
In July and August 2012 theInternet Society conducted online interviews of more than 10,000 Internet users in 20 countries, including questions on digital rights:[31]
Question
No. of Responses
Responses
Access to the Internet should be considered a basic human right.
10,789
83% somewhat or strongly agree, 14% somewhat or strongly disagree, 3% don't know
Each individual country has the right to govern the Internet the way they see fit.
10,789
67% somewhat or strongly agree, 29% somewhat or strongly disagree, 4% don't know /not applicable
The Internet does more to help society than it does to hurt it.
10,789
83% somewhat or strongly agree, 13% somewhat or strongly disagree, 4% don't know / not applicable
Increased government control of the Internet would make me use the Internet less.
9,717
57% somewhat or strongly agree, 39% somewhat or strongly disagree, 5% don't know / not applicable
Increased government control of the Internet would increase the number of users.
9,717
40% somewhat or strongly agree, 52% somewhat or strongly disagree, 8% don't know / not applicable
Governments need to place a higher priority on expanding the Internet and its benefits in my country.
10,789
83% somewhat or strongly agree, 11% somewhat or strongly disagree, 5% don't know / not applicable
For the Internet to reach its full potential in my country people need to be able to access the Internet without data and content restrictions.
10,789
79% somewhat or strongly agree, 17% somewhat or strongly disagree, 4% don't know / not applicable
^"VI. Conclusions and recommendations"Archived 2012-04-02 at theWayback Machine,Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, Human Rights Council, Seventeenth sessionAgenda item 3, United Nations General Assembly, 16 May 2011
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