People believe that internet access is a “fundamental right” according to a global poll done for the BBC.
Over 27,000 adults were queried for the study by GlobeScan across 26 different countries and the study found that 79% believed that internet access is a fundamental right.
Of the 14,000 or so who were queried who already used the internet found that 87% of these believed that internet access should be “the fundamental right of all people”. There was 71% of non-internet users who also believed that they should have the right to access the internet.
Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that internet access is a human right for those living in these countries which are interesting for the UK at the moment as the government are trying to get their “Digital Economy Bill” pushed through which would mean that there should be universal broadband across the UK by 2012 and also that a “three strikes rule” would become law for those caught downloading illegal files such as music and videos.
The study also delved into what internet users concerns were with the internet, with fraud being the issue that concerned 32% of those questioned, 27% thought explicit and violent content was the biggest concern with 20% most worried about threats to their privacy.
In the UK we were found to be only second to Japan to feel that the internet has increased our freedom, with 87% of internet uses here believing this to be the case, just 11% did not agree that this was the case. Interestingly a figure of 75% of British felt that internet access should be a fundamental right.
Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are sites that 42% of British internet users enjoy spending time and 55% think that there should be some government regulation of the internet.
Doug Miller, the GlobeScan Chairman 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.”