Finland has become the first country in the world to declare that high speed internet access is a legal right. Finnish telecommunications companies will be required to provide the 5.2 million people of Finland with internet access at a speed of one megabit per second.
Laura Vikkonen who is a spokesperson for Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications issued this statement. “We think [the internet is] something you cannot live without in modern society. Like banking services or water or electricity, you need an internet connection. Universal service is every citizen’s subjective right.”
Finland is not the only country that thinks highly of the internet. The French Constitutional Council, their highest court, recently decided that internet access is a human right that would be similar to water, food, shelter, freedom of speech, privacy and education. Many people see this as a great step forward for humanity and that in ten years we will all be wondering why this wasn’t a human right before.
Of course, anyone who is a realist is going to think this is a waste of time and nonsensical to say the least. We live in a world where millions of people do not have access to clean water, shelter, medicine or food. It is absurd that internet access will take equal priority to these other human rights. France and Finland have always been odd countries to say the least.
In continuance of their zany ways, France can see the internet as a human right, but not the freedom to express your religion. In France one cannot wear religious symbols in public because of their strict interpretation of the separation of church and state. At least the homeless people in Paris will be able to login to their AOL accounts and check the latest gossip from Perez Hilton, even if they can’t wear a cross necklace in school.
This would not concern me too much if Finland and France were the only two countries involved in this madness. However, the United Nations has also decided to take this issue head-on. There is a movement now for the UN to officially make internet access a human right. There is a long list of human rights and most are not officially recognized by all member states. So, at least the United States will not be pressured into providing internet access to all 300 million citizens. But this is still concerning because it gives you an idea of the mindset of these people.
The internet is important, but it is not logical to rationalize the addition of internet access to the list of human rights. Maybe they should have a sub-group, something called, ‘recommended human activities’ or ‘non-essential human rights.’ If internet access eventually ends up on this list of human rights it will have the potential to make this list as meaningless as the Noble Prize is currently. In case this does happen, I am challenging anyone in favor of this addition to the human rights list to a friendly competition. It is a simple wager based on who can survive the longest. I will take water as my only right, and you can have internet access as your only right. We will see who survives longer.
So, assuming my challenge will not be answered, I will then turn to you, the reader. What do you think about the internet being listed as a human right, or being mandated by law?
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