Survey Says Internet Access is a ‘Fundamental Right’

Four in five adults in more than 26 different countries believe that Internet access is a fundamental right, this according to a new poll sponsored by the BBC World Service.

The poll asked more than 27,000 adults about their attitudes towards the Internet, and found that 87% of those who regularly use the Internet believe that access should be “the fundamental right of all people.” More than 71% of non-Internet users also felt that they should have the right to access the global network.

The survey found that most web users are positive about the Internet: 78% said they felt it had brought them greater freedom, 90% said they thought it was a good place to learn, and just over 50% said they enjoyed spending their time on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Not suprisingly, most respondents reject the concept of government regulation. More than half of the Internet users surveyed said that “the Internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere,” including large proportions of the population in South Korea (83%), Nigeria (77%) , and Mexico (72%).  A large number of those surveyed said that they didn’t think they could cope without the Internet, including 84% of those polled in Japan and 81% of those in Mexico.

Gigaom has more.

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