Internet access now basic human right

The Philippine government has been urged to ensure universal access to Internet over the weekend in light of the United Nations report declaring Internet access as a basic human right.



Rep. Raymond Palatino of Kabataan Party-list made the call under his House Resolution 1397, saying that facilitating access to the Internet for all individuals, with as little restriction to online content as possible should be a priority of all governments per the United Nations Human Rights Council report.



Palatino cited that while the Philippines has 30 million Internet users of which 3.6 million are connected via broadband services, the Internet remains to be highly inaccessible to millions of Filipinos due to the sorry state of bandwidth in the country to the exorbitant rates being charged by telecommunications companies for their services.



Per consumer rights group TxtPower, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has failed to follow the lead of telecom regulators worldwide in defining what broadband Internet is, whether delivered via dial-up, wired or wireless connections even though the Philippines has attained the respected status of a social media capital in the region and in Asia.



“Without such a definition, the NTC leaves telcos practically free to hoodwink end-users, including business and the government, regarding broadband Internet services, the cost and pricing and to keep Philippine Internet access among the slowest and most expensive in the region,” Palatino pointed out.



Palatino noted that no less than the UN has already encouraged states to support initiatives to ensure that online information can be accessed in a meaningful way by all sectors of the population, including person with disabilities and persons belonging to linguistic minorities.



Moreover, the UN also proposed to include Internet literacy skills in school curricula, conduct trainings to help individuals learn how to protect themselves against harmful content and explain the potential consequences of revealing private information on the Internet.



“The Internet boosts economic, social and political development and contributes to the progress of humankind as a whole. Universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all States given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights,” Palatino argued.

BY LLANESCA T. PANTI