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Most of the world believes
More than 80 per cent of the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right.
According to a poll for the BBC World Service suggests more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries think it should be seen as a basic commodity such as food, water and new episodes of Dr Who.
Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that access is a human right for their citizens and the UN are also pushing for universal net access.
Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), told BBC News that the right to communicate cannot be ignored as it is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created. He added that governments must "regard the internet as basic infrastructure - just like roads, waste and water.
However some countries favour the government getting involved in more internet censorship. In the UK, for example, 55 per cent believed that there was a case for some government regulation of the internet, something that the Chinese agreed with. South Korea and Nigeria felt strongly that governments should never be involved in regulation of the internet.
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The Internet is a basic human right
Most of the world believes
More than 80 per cent of the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right.
According to a poll for the BBC World Service suggests more than 27,000 adults across 26 countries think it should be seen as a basic commodity such as food, water and new episodes of Dr Who.
Countries such as Finland and Estonia have already ruled that access is a human right for their citizens and the UN are also pushing for universal net access.
Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), told BBC News that the right to communicate cannot be ignored as it is the most powerful potential source of enlightenment ever created. He added that governments must "regard the internet as basic infrastructure - just like roads, waste and water.
However some countries favour the government getting involved in more internet censorship. In the UK, for example, 55 per cent believed that there was a case for some government regulation of the internet, something that the Chinese agreed with. South Korea and Nigeria felt strongly that governments should never be involved in regulation of the internet.