Is there a Right to the Internet under International Law?

Module 3: Access to the Internet

The internet has transformed the free flow of information, empowering anyone with an internet connection to gather and share information and ideas, thereby profoundly impacting the exercise and protection of the triad of information rights: privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information.(1) The United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 2016 Resolution on the promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet affirmed that these rights are essential for the full realization of other fundamental rights and should be safeguarded with equal rigour in the online sphere as they are offline.

However, notwithstanding this affirmation, an express right to the internet has not yet been recognised in any international treaty or similar instrument. This has been the source of much debate, and the arguments for and against the right of access to the internet are numerous. In 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that it may be time to reinforce universal access to the internet as a human right, and not just a privilege.(2)

There is an increasing recognition of access to the internet being indispensable to the enjoyment of an array of fundamental rights. The corollary is that those without access to the internet are deprived of the full enjoyment of those rights, which, in many instances, can exacerbate already existing socio-economic divisions. For instance, a lack of access to the internet can impede an individual’s ability to obtain key information, facilitate trade, search for jobs, or consume goods and services.

Access entails two distinct but interrelated dimensions:

the ability to see and disseminate content online; and
the ability to use the physical infrastructure to enable access to such online content.

In 2003, UNESCO was among the first international bodies to call on states to take steps to realise the right of access to the internet. In this regard, it stated that:(3)

“Member States and international organizations should promote access to the Internet as a service of public interest through the adoption of appropriate policies in order to enhance the process of empowering citizenship and civil society, and by encouraging the proper implementation of, and support to, such policies in developing countries, with due consideration of the needs of rural communities. […] Member States should recognize and enact the right of universal online access to public and government-held records including information relevant for citizens in a modern democratic society, giving due account to confidentiality, privacy and national security concerns, as well as to intellectual property rights to the extent that they apply to the use of such information. International organizations should recognize and promulgate the right for each State to have access to essential data relating to its social or economic situation.”

In 2012, the UNHRC passed an important resolution that “[called] upon all States to facilitate access to the Internet and international cooperation aimed at the development of media and information communications facilities in all countries.”(4)

The UN Sustainable Development Goals

This has been expanded upon in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which recognise that “[t]he spread of information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies.”(5) The SDGs further call on states to enhance the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and other enabling technologies to promote the empowerment of women,(6) and to strive to provide universal and affordable access to the internet in least-developed countries by 2020.(7)

The 2016 UN Resolution on the Internet, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council, recognises that the internet can accelerate progress towards development, including in achieving the SDGs, and affirms the importance of applying a rights-based approach in providing and expanding access to the internet.(8) Notably, it affirms the importance of applying a comprehensive rights‑based approach in providing and expanding access to the internet(9) and calls on states to consider formulating and adopting national internet‑related public policies with the objective of universal access and the enjoyment of human rights at their core.(10)

Status of the SDG goal around internet access

The SDGs call on states to enhance the use of ICTs and other enabling technologies to promote the empowerment of women,(11) and to strive to provide universal and affordable access to the internet in least developed countries by 2020.(12) At the end of 2020, it was clear that this goal had not been met, with more than 3.5 billion people still without internet access. In 2023 33% of the global population did not have internet access, which was an improvement from the previous year.(13) In Africa internet access varies largely between countries, illustrating the inequitable access to the internet.(14)

Notwithstanding whether the internet is seen as a self-standing right or an enabling tool to facilitate the realisation of other rights, the groundwork has been firmly laid for the need to realise universal access to the internet. States are concomitantly required to take steps to achieve universal access. However, in reality, universal access to the internet is far from being realised. This is due to a confluence of factors, including a lack of financial resources at both the individual and state levels, inadequate locally-relevant content, insufficient levels of digital literacy, and a lack of political will to make this a priority.

Footnotes

ARTICLE 19, ‘Digital Rights’ (accessible at https://www.article19.org/issue/digital-rights/).
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner ‘It May be Time to Reinforce Universal Access to the Internet as a Human Eight, Not Just a Privilege, High Commissioner tells Human Rights Council’ (2023) (accessible at https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2023/03/it-may-be-time-reinforce-universal-access-internet-human-right-not-just-privilege-high).
UNESCO, ‘Recommendation concerning the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace’ (accessible at http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/official_documents/Eng – Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace.pdf) at paras 7 and 15.
UNHRC, ‘Resolution on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet’ (2012) (accessible at https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/E/HRC/d_res_dec/A_HRC_20_L13.doc) at para 2. This was expanded upon further the following year in UNHRC, ‘Resolution on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet’ (2014) (accessible at https://hrlibrary.umn.edu/hrcouncil_res26-13.pdf).
UNGA, ‘Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development’ A/Res/70/1, 21 October 2015 (accessible at https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang=E) at para 15.
Id at goal 5(b), p 18.
Id at goal 9(c), p 21.
UNHRC, ‘Resolution on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet’, (2016) (accessible at https://www.refworld.org/docid/57e916464.html) at para 2.
Id at para 5.
Id at para 12.
Id at goal 5(b), p18.
Id at goal 9(c), p 21.
International Telecommunication Union ‘Facts and Figures 2023: Internet Use’ (2023) (accessible at https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/2023/10/10/ff23-internet-use/).
Statista ‘Share of internet users in Africa as of January 2023, by country’ (2023) (accessible at https://www.statista.com/statistics/1124283/internet-penetration-in-africa-by-country/).