Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures - Jessamyn West
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The Internet is a fundamental right
ACCORDING TO A REPORT, the overwhelming majority of people believe that access to the Internet is a fundamental right.
The figures, which show that four out of five adults across the globe think that they deserve access to the Internet, came out of a survey that was conducted for the BBC World Service and polled the opinions of some 27,000 people, just under half of which had Internet access already.
Nearly nine out of ten (87 per cent) of people with Internet access said that it should be "the fundamental right of all people."
For those without Internet access the number was somewhat lower, as just over seven out of ten (71 per cent) said that they deserved the right of access to the intertubes. However there were some areas where the desire for Internet access was even greater, for example in South Korea (96 per cent), Mexico (94 per cent) and China (87 per cent).
There are many benefits to having access to the Internet, respondents added. Just over three quarters (78 per cent) said it gave them greater freedom, nine in ten (90 per cent) said it was a great educational tool, and just over half (51 per cent) said they liked social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace.
However, it was not all great news for the Internet. Almost half of all users said that they were concerned about privacy issues, and 65 per cent were worried about 'expressing their opinions' online. This was most often seen in South Korea (70 per cent), France (69 per cent), Germany (72 per cent), and China (55 per cent). This came as a bit of a surprise to us.
What was really shocking was the Chinese response, which we thought would be a lot higher. Perhaps Chinese citizens were concerned about expressing their concerns about expressing their opinions?
Online fraud is also an issue, according to the survey, and just under a third said that it was "what worried them most." We assume that these same people surrendered some of their demographic information to take part in this survey, but can only guess that they are usually more cautious.
The survey was carried out by GlobeScan to support programming on the BBC World Service. Announcing the results, GlobeScan's chairman Doug Miller said, "Despite worries about privacy and fraud, people around the world see access to the Internet as their fundamental right. They think the web is a force for good, and most don't want governments to regulate it."
The results are taken from a survey of 27,973 adults in 26 countries, including 14,306 Internet users. µ
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Somebody has to pay for the infrastructure, hardware, software, I.T and networking professionals that make it all happen. It is a privilege, not a right. I guess we could just raise taxes even more, so everyone can have free access. Obamanet to the rescue!
a href="http://www.commodity-tips-ncdex.blogspot.com" Ncdex Tips /a
while I don't believe that Internet access is a Right, I do believe that being allowed to buy Internet access is a right, and therefor these 'three strikes' laws that the big publishers want that would kick you off the Internet if they claim you have violated their IP three times are a big problem.
if the politicians listen to stories like this one, they may think twice about approving laws that the majority of their people believe would violate their 'Rights'
Here is the US, if you are known as "Progressive", you view the Constitution as a living document, and you can "interpret" it to mean whatever you want it to mean on any given day.
This gives us lots of flexibility. If I want the RIGHT to a job, I can have it. If I want the RIGHT to a cool car, a cell phone (with unlimited voice and data, of course), etc, its there.
And most important, if I'm in control, and I don't like what you say, I can call you stupid and put a muzzle on you, all for the good of our great citizens.