The image is familiar. A little boy is walking around with his mobile phone in his hand and endlessly showing his friends various funny videos from the internet. Below, a girl is frantically searching to buy the dress she liked so much online and a little further on, an imposing gentleman is informed about the news of the day from his favorite site.
Error 404! If for most of us all of the above are images of everyday reality, the same is not true for all countries in the world. If, for example, you find yourself in a country like Turkey, then you may have to put your electronic device aside and enjoy the scenery, since online censorship is the other side of your own reality.
Offline, everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Offline, everyone has the right to seek and disseminate information and ideas. Online, however, things change. Internet restrictions, based on research that has been conducted, are applied to only 30% of the population, while equal “electronic” rights do not apply to everyone. If this percentage seems “normal” or “unimportant to pay attention to”, then let us inform you that it is not.
In 2018, freedom cannot be limited to offline & online cases but should be considered self-evident in every case. Access to the internet is not a privilege but a right and should be treated as such at every latitude. Citizens of the world should enjoy equal rights in their browsing of the internet away from restrictions and censorship. The internet is not anyone’s “enemy” or “friend”, after all, but a tool for various uses. How it will be used is another matter, but whatever the result, there should be a choice.
Will the next step be its immediate implementation by the Human Rights Council or will it remain “on the shelf”? And if implemented, do you think people will gain their “internet” freedom or will they become “prisoners” of their own desire for this freedom?
Inside info: The Human Rights Council approved on Thursday, July 6, 2012, the text of resolution L13, on the promotion and protection of human rights on the Internet – with the consent of the representatives of countries that have even been characterized as “under surveillance” enemies of the Internet (including France, Turkey, Tunisia and Australia).