Access to internet to be declared as a fundamental right

The Internet has revolutionised how people interact and exercise their freedom of expression and information as well as related fundamental rights. Internet access is not merely a luxury for those who can afford it but instead is necessary for individuals to lead minimally decent lives. The Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe believes that internet should be available to all – regardless of age, place of residence or income, and that stronger efforts are necessary at local, regional, national levels in order to ensure internet access for all.

The target 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals mandates to significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the internet in least developed countries by 2020.According to ITU report, the year 2019 marks the first full year when more than half of the world (51.2 per cent) has begun to participate in the global digital economy by logging onto the internet.

Realising the importance of internet, some countries in different ways have recognised access to internet as a human right. In response to a plea against the suspension of internet services in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019,the Supreme Court of India declared thatthe right to freedom of speech and expression covers the right to go online and thus access to internet is protected under Article 19 of the Constitution.Suspending internet can only be for a limited time period and is subject to judicial review.

The government of Kerala has officially declared the K-FON project aimed at providing quality internet which will be free of cost for the poor and at affordable price for all, including hospitals, schools, government officers, and other institutions by December 2020.

Recently, the Jakarta state administrative court in Indonesia ruled that the act of slowing down the internet to contain civil unrest in the country’s easternregion of Papua last year was an unlawful action done by an agency ofthe government.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously increased the usage of internet and accelerated adoption of technology. COVID-19 outbreak is a lesson that technology has many faces. Many countries having e-readiness have taken immediate steps to conduct judicial proceedings online. Bangladesh also started its journey of conducting judicial proceedings through virtual courts on 12 May 2020. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has issued directives for conducting judicial proceedings through video conferencing. In order to introduce virtual courts, the government has taken steps to formulate legislative framework and finally, the Honourable President promulgated the Ordinance titled “Use of Information and Communication Technology by Courts Ordinance, 2020” on 9 May, 2020 which has introduced a new era of the judiciary.

Many educational institutions have shifted from face-to-face classrooms to online during this critical time. Private institutions started working from home around the world though asnever seen before. On the heels of successful work from home experiences and considering benefits like reduced commuting times, reduced operational costs – Google and Twitter have announced that employees will have the option to work from home forever.

KiranMazumdar-Shaw, managing director of Biocon Limited, said, “COVID-19 will reboot the world into virtual reality and after the crisis, work from home models are likely to continue and business travel is likely to be curtailed as virtual meetings have proved to be just as effective.”

Due to the seismic events unleashed by the pandemic, the world we will live in will be very different, as our success will depend on how we live, workand use technology. The Digital 2020 reports that, at present, more than 4.5 billion people are using the internet with an increase of 298 million (or 7 per cent) users year-on-year.

The number of active internet connections in Bangladesh has crossed the landmark of 10 crore following a surge by 32.69 lakh in March this year, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. The number of fixed broadband connections has increased by 40.76 percent in March this year.

The United Nations Human Rights Council released a non-binding resolution in 2016 affirming that the same rights people have offline must also be protected online. It also emphasises the importance of internet access for the fulfillment of many human rights which called for states to take measures to work towards universal access to the internet, and it condoned heavy restrictions on access to content on the internet as a violation of human rights.

According to section 29 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001, one of the objectives of BTRC is to ensure access to reliable, reasonably priced and modern telecommunication services and internet-services for the greatest number of people, as far as practicable. However, we have witnessed that the government slowed down the speed of internet or blocked YouTube, Facebook and Viber onseveral occasions arbitrarily, on the grounds of public interest or to stop extremism.

Despite the potential risks for users participating online, the benefits and opportunities provided by the internet have never been so clearly measurable. The Covid-19 pandemichas made us understand that it is next to impossible to think of life without the internet. We will witness a dramatic restructuring of the economic and social order in which business and society have traditionally operated.

It is therefore crucial that everyone has the right to get access to internet and the government should not rein in or slow down internet speedsarbitrarily. The apex court may declare that the right to freedom of speech and expression, as guaranteed under the Fundamental Rights,covers the right to go online and thus, access to internet is protected under Article 39 of the Constitution. Suspending internet can only be for a limited time period and is subject to judicial review. Suspension of Internet and basic freedoms cannot be an arbitrary exercise of executive organ of the country. Government should stress on developing a strong mechanism to combat cyber-crimes and blocking offensive contents on internet.

Mazharul Islam, Corporate Legal practitioner