You Have the Right to Remain...Online

Does speedy Internet access belong in the same arena as personal liberty, the freedom of expression, and the pursuit of happiness?

If you're Finnish, the answer is a resounding yes.

On the same day Starbucks endorsed the basic human right of Internet access (sort of) by offering free wifi to all Starbucks-goers, the entire nation of Finland followed suit by " by making broadband every Finnish citizen's legal right and ensuring that every citizen will have access to a 1Mbps broadband connection".

Who knew those Scandinavians would be the ones to push the technology envelope? Though, I can't say I'm surprised, since a quarter of my blood is Swedish. (Really. Sometimes I can't say "three" because of my latent accent trying to escape my East Texas upbringing.) Over 95% of the Finnish already have Internet access. And call me uninformed, but I didn't realize that tech giant Nokia is Finland-based.

I hinted at the implications of human rights a few months ago (see "Digital Divide") when I noted that it's extremely difficult to receive a complete education these days without decent Internet access. Those in poverty who can't afford it are at a tremendous disadvantage, and that interferes with the human right to a good education.

As our world races forward and computer and telecommunications technologies penetrate even more deeply into our societal fabric, the argument begins to involve more than a mere decent education. Inadequate Internet access will eventually interfere with our ability to function as human beings.

One blog I read had an interesting take: "I think this insults the idea of human rights a bit. Does inhibiting someone’s broadband fall into the same category as other crimes against humanity now? Surely we don’t put broadband up there with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, do we?"

But, like education, does a lack of Internet access sufficiently interfere with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that it becomes a "right by association"? I don't know.

I wonder which countries will be the second, third, fourth dominoes to fall. And I wonder how late my US of A will be to the party.

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"Human beings will be happier - not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That's my utopia." -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.