
New mandate of the United Nations for governments: the right to access the internet/ Hossein Ahmadi Niazi
“متن راستچین”
“Right-aligned text”
Hossein Ahmadi Niaz
Access to the internet is a right for citizens (humans) and facilitating access to it is considered a duty for governments. Based on this, the United Nations, by adopting a non-binding resolution for its members, considered the right to access and use the internet as a human right. This organization has criticized countries that have been negligent in providing internet services to their citizens.
Afterwards, countries that attempt to cut or even reduce internet speed and illegally filter it can be considered a violation of human rights.
The vastness of the internet and the necessity of access to it, as well as the expansion of social networks and their use as one of the requirements of life, have made having unobstructed internet access recognized as one of the components of modern human rights. This right falls under the fourth generation of human rights, in the form of cultural rights and the right to development. It is essential to acknowledge the right to access the internet as one of the components of human rights, as it includes the right to knowledge, communication, and information. The boundaries of freedom of thought and expression also extend to the internet. The internet is a means of free access to knowledge. The right to knowledge is one of the fundamental components of human rights, and the internet is one of the main ways in which this important right is realized. On the other hand, the right to communication is one of the main mechanisms of the right to access the internet. The traditional method of communication through media, newspapers, or
After the September 11th incident, governments have imposed many restrictions on citizens’ internet rights and have created extensive controls and surveillance under the pretext of fighting terrorism. This is considered a violation of human rights by many legal experts. However, some critics see freedom of information in the virtual world as an opportunity for threatening national security and believe that terrorists can endanger the security of governments and citizens by exploiting this gifted world. On the other hand, the virtual world has fundamental flaws such as distance from each other, lack of sense of belonging, destabilization of family foundations, growth of cyber crimes, weakness of moral foundations, etc. Therefore, civil society organizations and governments are working hard to protect the internet from these harms or minimize them. However, none of these can justify the creation of restrictions and barriers to accessing the internet. All citizens have the right to free access to the internet and governments are obligated to respect this right and provide easy access to it.

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Freedom of speech Internet Internet rights Magazine number 63 Monthly Peace Line Magazine United Nations Organization