Is the right to access the Internet a new human right?

The article raises the issue of recognizing access to the Internet as a new human right, the emergence of which on the “agenda” of constitutional and legal science is due to the intensive development of information technology. The author makes a brief exploration into what the Internet is, both as a phenomenon and as a significant product for society, and the purpose behind its nature of access. Here, the thesis about the ideological and technological factors that determine the person’s ability to use the Internet is put forth. In some states, the right to access the Internet has already been secured. To determine the degree of detail of the idea of the right of access to the Internet, we studied the rules of the legal systems of the following countries: Greece, Nepal, France, Estonia, Finland, Costa Rica, Russia. In addition, attention is given to the results of the Council of Europe standard-setting in legislation, the United Nations and international agreements in this sphere; the decisions of courts of different instances that are of interest in this subject are presented. It is concluded that the process of involving the Internet in the realization of human rights will increase, and that gradually the Internet from the instrument of realization of rights acquires an independent significance. The author shows the trends in legal regulation concerning the technological and ideological aspects of access to the Internet, and considers them as prerequisites for recognizing a new human right – the right to access the Internet, and justifies the actual content of this right.

About the author: Artem Khusnutdinov – Postgraduate student, Russian State University of Justice, Moscow, Russia.

Citation: Khusnutdinov A. (2017) Pravo na dostup v Internet – novoe pravo cheloveka? [Is the right to access the Internet a new human right?]. Sravnitel’noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, no.4, pp.109–123. (In Russian).

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