You don’t have to assert something as a...

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You don’t have to assert something as a fundamental human right to believe that it provides a social good of deep, deep of value. So, I remain an Internet exceptionalist and fanatic. I am all in favor of providing Internet access to the world, preferably for free. (Of course, I’d first want to make sure everyone can read and write, has electricity, has a full belly, and has access to medical care, so that they can use the Net in the first place. Also, so they can live.) Access to an open Internet is an incredible social good. We who have such access should cherish it, use it, spread it, share it, and fight to keep it open. Nevertheless, calling Net access a human right blurs the line between social goods and demandable human rights. That does not bring the Net to the world any faster, and diminishes the effect of claims of genuine human rights.

Joho the Blog » The Internet as a human right

I’ve seen this essay go around teh twitterz a few times in the last couple of days. It’s worth reading the whole thing, but I’ll go ahead and say that I agree with the conclusion quoted here.

Even I, spending waking hours within arm’s-reach of an internet-connected device, making my living from the Internet, having met my husband and a lot of my dear friends on the Internet, would be extremely hesitant to group Internet access in with universal human rights like freedom of speech, freedom from torture, etc.

But being the person I just described, I also passionately believe that Internet access is a powerful social good that supports many of our basic human rights, and as such, it’s important enough that it should be on the list of things we work to ensure everyone has, right after clean food/water, adequate medical care, adequate shelter, security, and education.

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