How Internet Access As A Human Right Could Impact Tech Companies

The case for internet access as a human right remains a hotly debated subject. However, in the post-pandemic world, it’s one that is becoming increasingly skewed toward the affirmative. Data Reportal reports that 63 percent of the world uses the internet daily. When internet access is a requirement of functionality in the modern world, when does it become a human right? As the world has exited the stages of lockdowns and quarantines, the internet has remained in the spotlight. If this emphasis on the internet as a need rather than a want leads to its qualification as a human right in the future, it won’t impact consumers alone. It will also have a dramatic effect on tech companies. If the government were to formally deem it a human right, tech companies could expect an increasing number of regulations to come their way. Furthermore, if internet access becomes a right, the market competition will likely shift. Rather than focusing on whether or not a consumer can connect to the internet in the first place, providers will need to adopt more of a conciliatory approach toward their customers. Lastly, if access to the internet becomes a human right, it could only be a matter of time before access to and affordability of online entertainment comes into question as well.

[Serenity Gibbons is a former assistant editor at The Wall Street Journal.]