The right to access the Internet

The Internet provides new opportunities for accessing information cheaply and easily. Within minutes, material can be obtained that often used to require weeks of searching through libraries and archives. But the Internet is not just about receiving information. It also provides exceptional possibilities for voices to be expressed and heard that are excluded from other media.

The right to access the Internet should be recognised as a fundamental right for everyone. In a modern society in which communications has assumed a central role, those that cannot be heard become largely ignored. It is essential for democracy that such exclusion be ended. New communications technology must be made available to all. Internet Rights Bulgaria supports equal access to communications regardless of gender, race, language or disability. We are working with a number of organisations to develop training and facilities to assist in achieving such equality.

There are a number of key problems that restrict the right of Internet access in Central and Eastern Europe and especially the Balkans region. Lack of good telecommunications infrastructure, the high cost of computer equipment and commercial software relative to the low wages, and, for NGOs, a lack of training in the best ways they can use the Internet all contribute to the problem. Internet Rights Bulgaria supports and works with initiatives throughout the region aimed at tackling these problems.