UN Report Declares Internet Access a Human Right | Threat Level | Wired.com
I do not agree that internet access is a human right, nor do I believe shutting down thieves of intellectual property is at all inappropriate. Once again the un got it dead wrong. Even when tyrants like Syria cut off the net it’s not a human rights crime, it’s just another kind of oppression that fails to rise to that lofty standard of human rights.
A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law.
The report railed against France and the United Kingdom, which have passed laws to remove accused copyright scofflaws from the internet. It also protested blocking internet access to quell political unrest.
While blocking and filtering measures deny users access to specific content on the Internet, states have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur considers cutting off users from internet access, regardless of the justification provided, including on the grounds of violating intellectual property rights law, to be disproportionate and thus a violation of article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.