Access to the Internet considered a fundamental human right

What should equitable access to information entail? Should Internet access be recognised as a fundamental human right? It seems that some countries have already given an affirmative answer to this question, with Spain and Estonia already considering Internet access in this light.

However, as experts highlighted during a discussion in the “Rzeczpospolita” lounge at the Economic Forum in Karpacz, the Internet offers opportunities linked to digitisalisation for education and defense, but it also presents risks for civil society and national security.

Internet defends and attacks

– “Never in our history have digital technologies been as important in armed conflict as they are today”, noted Krzysztof Szubert, representative of the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation.

The Internet came into the UN focus a long time ago, with the UN organising the annual Internet Governance Forum conference, where the future and shaping of the web is discussed. From the UN perspective, as noted by Christopher Szubert, almost half the world has no access to the Internet at all. – “According to the International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency, 4 billion people had access to the Internet before the pandemic, and after the pandemic this number is already 5 billion. Nevertheless, this means that 3 billion people still do not have that access”, K. Szubert said. This is why he lists free network access, services of the digital world, and competencies of the digital world as the UN’s priorities.

In Poland, these figures look pretty good: 29 million Poles use the Internet, which is 75% of the total population.

– “Internet access is available, so I would divide the problem areas into technical access capability, and in more developed countries, including Poland, I would rather discuss about the quality of the access. That is why we have included network access parameters in the 5G auction. We want to demand good performance levels and recommend progressively better ones”, said Marcin Kubarek, director of the Central Electronics Centre.

How important it is to have unhindered access is shown, for example, by... the language in which the Internet in a particular region communicates with the users. M. Kubarek gave the example of Tanzania, where as many as 85 languages are spoken. When the government introduced Swahili as the official language on the Internet, it became apparent that the citizens wanted access in their individual 85 languages.

The role of the Internet is becoming clearer for all market players, including operators. – There’s no doubt the Internet is becoming as basic a human right as access to running water or electricity. As operators, we see growing demand, but it also requires growing investment. These are the challenges for the following years”, said Jean Marc Harion, CEO of the Play network in Poland, during the debate.

As he added, first the pandemic demonstrated that good Internet access was essential for business, family contacts, remote working, and also for essential leisure. However, literally six months after the end of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine demonstrated another key importance of communication. – “The Internet has proved crucial for supporting the army and the population for their resistance. Without a reliable communication network, Ukraine would not probably be able to resist Russia as it did”, noted head of Play.

A short road to revolution

– “The majority of Poles use the Internet, so I estimate that well over 90% of young people use it. If we wanted to make a revolution, let’s tell young people that in a while they won’t have access to the internet”, said prof. Piotr Wachowiak, Vice-Chancellor of the Warsaw School of Economics [SGH].

He noted that whether the Internet is or is not a human right should not even be debated as this is already guaranteed in Article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights. – “It says that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, to seek and disseminate information regardless of borders”, said Piotr Wachowiak.

He pointed out that several European countries already officially recognise the Internet as a human right. This has already happened in Finland, France, Spain, or Estonia. However, access to the Internet requires a whole new set of skill; otherwise, Poles will not use it.

– “We should put a lot of emphasis on digital literacy. There is no problem with young people, as I observe at university, but with the older generation. However, we have a University of the Third Age at the Warsaw School of Economics and the most popular classes are those on how to use the Internet. Seniors see the benefit of this ability — they can communicate with their grandchildren. So, we see that it is possible to equip even mature people with digital skills”, said prof. Wachowiak.

However, he repeatedly stressed that users also need to learn to be aware of the darker side of the Internet, with fake news and deliberate misinformation. – “It is still important and difficult to ensure that this universal right to information does not threaten us, an example being the anti-vaccine movement”, said the SGH Vice-Chancellor.

Highly digital services

Of course, the basic digital service of the administration in Poland today is mObywatel and the fully electronic ID card, which can be used in all institutions. This service was praised by all panellists, but they stressed that there is room for more and more services and commercial entities from the government side, too, like dealing with official matters without leaving home. That’s why, there is an obvious need not only to have access to good quality Internet, but also to design well thought-out services.

– “I expect a revolution in the postal market, i.e., the entry of the e-delivery service”, said Jacek Oko, President of the Office of Electronic Communications. – “This is an extension of the authentication of the mObywatel service and our civil rights in accessing information. This revolution must happen as soon as possible”, he added.

In doing so, he noted that there is currently a bit of a problem on the market with interpreting and understanding the accessibility of information for people with special needs, which you need to be aware of, so that by overcoming one exclusion, you don’t breed another. He also referred to the recent scandal that resulted in the Health Minister losing his position just before the elections.

– “Digital services need to be based on trust, which has recently been breached. Citizens need to trust that this information that is on the Internet is properly secured and used by authorised persons”, said president Oko, who stressed that the Internet is not only about access to information, but also about access to knowledge. He reminded that Poland received an award for one of its network access development projects – the OSE (the Nationwide Education Network) project, which involves connecting 30,000 schools to high-speed Internet.

To create digital services, however, you need competencies, which future employees of operators and other technology companies must acquire.

– “Everything today is based on algorithms. AI is also used to create algorithms, so a condition for survival is to understand and get along with the algorithms. That is why we at Play decided to support the 42 Warsaw programming school. Recruitment of new students has already started; it is free of charge and we do not require previous degrees”, Jean Marc Harion encouraged.

The panel moderator Artur Osiecki of Rzeczpospolita daily asked the participants to identify good advice for the development of the digital market in Poland. The panellists pointed out that access also means making information understandable to the users. Security and cyber-security are also of key importance.