Calls for internet access to be enshrined as a fundamental right

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 30 May 2010

Internet use has become so woven into everyday life that some technology experts say online access should be legally protected, even to the point of considering it a human right.

''It's a social inclusion question,'' said Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre executive director David Vaile, who is alarmed film and music companies have sought to require internet service providers to disconnect individual accounts over unproven piracy allegations.

Mr Vaile said removing online access would potentially disenfranchise people from society. Australian copyright provisions allowing ''fair use'' were substantially less forgiving than US laws and threatened consumers here with losing their online access.