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Most Believe Web Is a Fundamental Right, Not a Privilege

by Terrence O'Brien on March 9, 2010 at 07:29 AM

Americans might be on the fence about whether or not health care is a right or a privilege, but they seem to be in agreement with the vast majority of the world's population when it comes to the question of Internet access being a fundamental right. An international survey, conducted by the BBC World Service, found that 79-percent of respondents thought that having access to the Web was a basic right.

In addition, more than half of the 27,000 respondents, who were polled in 26 countries, agreed that the Internet should not be subject to any government regulation. From country to country, opinions did differ, though, when it came to the most valued aspect of the Net and the biggest concerns regarding it. Overwhelmingly, the biggest concern in China was censorship, while other nations were more concerned with fraud, offensive content and invasions of privacy. Disturbingly, 84-percent of respondents from Japan were not confident in their ability to "cope" without access to the Internet. Dig in deep with the BBC's findings in this PDF. [From: BBC, Via: Reuters]

Tags: bbc, human rights, HumanRights, internet, internetaccess, netneutrality, research, survey, top

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