"It is a basic human right to be able to access the internet"

[Jaded]

She said: "You can't do internet shopping, pay bills, buy tickets, or file your tax returns. Everyone increasingly expects you to do things online these days, and just can't understand it when you can't. I think it's a basic human right to be able to access the internet."

Personally I think it is a tad dramatic to say that...

Discuss

BBC News - Government rural broadband plans attacked as inadequate

[Pedaldog.]

Being able to only deal with payments as cash or transfer I hate that internet and debit or credit cards seem to be the only way to get things these days.  The internet has killed many indipendent shops and it's now stopping people like me who, for whatever reason, do not have the technology of "Chip and Pin" in their wallet.

[oncemore]

Drivel. With the rather self-evident exception of internet shopping, simply not true. I'd remove some of her more real human rights and let her make her own comparison. Like shipping her to Syria.

[Ashaman42]

Whilst I don't think it is a basic human right I think maybe it should be.

At least from an educational point of view it can be incredibly useful and one step closer to the sort of distributed learning that could be pretty amazing (imagining a open access Open University type thingamie).

[Ashaman42]

Of course, thinking about it, the money and infrastructure to bring everyone the internet tubes could probably be put to better use improving the quality of life/human rights in far more important/meaningful ways.

[pcolbeck]

Probably not necessary at the moment but in another 10 years ? The world is only going to get more connected and we will rely on the Internet more and more. How many people on even this forum do you know who say that they don't watch TV or read newspapers and get all their news from the Internet ?
No Internet access will make you a second class citizen not far into the future. Augmented reality and direct plug-ins are just around the corner.
I remember being on holiday with my Dad in the late 90s and telling him that the Internet was going to be huge and would change the world. He couldn't see it. He does now. The rate of change is exponential. Tis interesting times.

[nicknack]

How many people on even this forum do you know who say that they don't watch TV or read newspapers and get all their news from the Internet ?

 

[mattc]

At 2am last night I asked 100 people who were logged onto facebook;

Do you use the internet much?

[Jaded]

Just seen a news item on Aljazeera about a tribal family who have 10 cattle left of their herd of 140 in the drought in their area.

I was musing; would they like to pay their bills on line?

I think there is a difference between a basic human right and a nicety of Western life.

[rafletcher]

I'll bet she has a mobile phone though - and with a smartphone or 3g dongle she CAN access the internet. Maybe not as cheaply as otherwise, but she can.

[CrinklyLion]

I think there is a difference between a basic human right and a nicety of Western life.

Yup.  And I struggle, like yourself, to see internet access as the former, although I think that the lack of it is likely a significant disadvantage in today's society.

[border-rider]

I'll bet she has a mobile phone though - and with a smartphone or 3g dongle she CAN access the internet. Maybe not as cheaply as otherwise, but she can.

or possibly not, in a rural area

[BrianI]

The internet is all fun and games until it becomes self aware and starts making Terminators.....

[pcolbeck]

Look at the stats:

Percentage of population online

About 1/3 of the total world population is now online. And its growing fast especially in the 3rd world. Availability of bandwidth will be what defines poverty in the near future.

[AndyK]

Most schools now expect, as a matter of course, that children will have internet access at home.

[CrinklyLion]

7 (all primaries) of the 8 that I work in have explicitly discussed the fact that not all their kids do, and how to deal with that, in meetings etc that I've either been a part of or been in the same room as.

[Cunobelin]

Who takes responsibility?

My Mother in Law did an "enabling" course on computers for the elderly a few years ago, and we were supportive.

She then went out and bought a computer and printer (with our help) and uses this for letters, cards and pictures.

However we wanted to suppervise internet use so we invited her round to use our systems to see how she got in.

It was a nightmare and a disaster waiting to happen, she believes all the scams, felt sorry for the Nigerian girl trying to get into the UK, the charities etc, wanted to buy so much tack because it was cheap rather than looking for quality.... in short she was going to be in trouble very quickly.


We still have "sessions" where she comes round a couple of times per week to have supervised access, and try to protect her. We also try and get her to recognise scams and never to give any personal details without checking with us first

However a friend of hers told her how to access the internet in the library, and she checked her emails........ One email told her there was a problem with her bank acount and asking for her account details - so she sent them!

She "knew" we banked on the internet so saw nothing wrong.

We are now sorting out the mess.

I am here on this site, and value greatly the help and assistance that I get (and hopefully contribute) so I do realise the benefits of the internet, but we really need to address the vulnerabilities of the elderly who are so very naive and open to abuse from
the unscrupulous and criminal element

[Jaded]

Food, shelter, freedom, justice.

Flash games and Porn.   

[pcolbeck]

Food, shelter, freedom, justice.

It's the last too plus education that will require access to the Internet. Print media is doomed and without access to news how do you participate in the political system ? Education is the same you can moan all you like about the fact that you shouldn’t need Internet access for education but you almost need it now in the west or you are at a severe disadvantage and soon it will be a necessity. On the bright side electronics are falling in cost all the time. The One Laptop power child project was aiming at $100 per laptop cost and in 10 years you should be able to make something with full Internet access for a 10th of that.

[AndyK]

Food, shelter, freedom, justice.

It's the last too plus education that will require access to the Internet. Print media is doomed and without access to news how do you participate in the political system ? Education is the same you can moan all you like about the fact that you shouldn’t need Internet access for education but you almost need it now in the west or you are at a severe disadvantage and soon it will be a necessity. On the bright side electronics are falling in cost all the time. The One Laptop power child project was aiming at $100 per laptop cost and in 10 years you should be able to make something with full Internet access for a 10th of that.

Laptops could be free, to many families it would make no difference. The problem isn't the cost of the hardware. The problem is the cost of the internet connection. Many families struggle with essential bills like rent, water, heating, and cannot afford an ISP bill on top of that.

[Julian]

In some countries prevention of access to the Internet is used very much like the anti-association laws used to be.

In terms of freedom of assembly, perhaps access to the Internet is a human right. 

[Charlotte]

In terms of freedom of assembly, perhaps access to the Internet is a human right. 

If it's not now, then very soon it ought to be.

More than that, I'm largely of the opinion that for reasons already mentioned, access to an unfiltered internet should be a human right.

Governments cannot be trusted to decide what is and what is not appropriate to block online.  Sure, make criminal activities illegal.  Prosecute them as you would illegalities anywhere.  But domain name seizure and blacklisting IP addresses are the actions of a totalitarian regime.

[Kim]

It's not really a human right, but if you're in the business of providing internet access (or perhaps legislation that relates to it) it's not entirely stupid to consider it to be.  The digital divide is a serious issue, and if we're not careful about the infrastructure we're going to end up with an underclass who, through education, poverty or geography will be marginalised in much the same way that people who can't use a telephone are currently.

[Polar Bear]

Or banks?   Perhaps we have more important issues to sort out before everybody can twatter?

[AndyK]

Will people die if they don't have the internet?