IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/pophec/v22y2023i4p441-469.html

The socio-economic argument for the human right to internet access

Author

Listed:
  • Merten Reglitz

Abstract

This paper argues that Internet access should be recognised as a human right because it has become practically indispensable for having adequate opportunities to realise our socio-economic human rights. This argument is significant for a philosophically informed public understanding of the Internet and because it provides the basis for creating new duties. For instance, accepting a human right to Internet access minimally requires guaranteeing access for everyone and protecting Internet access and use from certain objectionable interferences (e.g. surveillance, censorship, online abuse). Realising this right thus requires creating an Internet that is crucially different from the one we currently have. The argument thus has wide-ranging implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Merten Reglitz, 2023. "The socio-economic argument for the human right to internet access," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 22(4), pages 441-469, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pophec:v:22:y:2023:i:4:p:441-469
    DOI: 10.1177/1470594X231167597
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470594X231167597
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1470594X231167597?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kexin Yu & Shinyi Wu & Iris Chi & Deborah Carr, 2021. "Internet Use and Loneliness of Older Adults Over Time: The Mediating Effect of Social Contact [The relation between social network site usage and loneliness and mental health in community-dwelling older adults]," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(3), pages 541-550.
    2. James Nickel, 2022. "Linkage Arguments For and Against Rights," Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 27-47.
    3. Md Abdullah Omar & Kazuo Inaba, 2020. "Does financial inclusion reduce poverty and income inequality in developing countries? A panel data analysis," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, December.
    4. Bervell, Brandford & Al-Samarraie, Hosam, 2019. "A comparative review of mobile health and electronic health utilization in sub-Saharan African countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 1-16.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Damiyano & Stephen Mago, 2023. "An Analysis of the Impact of Financial Inclusion on Poverty and Development: Case of SACU Countries," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 13(6), pages 141-147, November.
    2. Wenjie Jiang & Hong Yang & Chunyu Liu, 2025. "Deeper Effects of fiscal multidimensional poverty reduction: household characteristics, financial lags and elite capture," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(2), pages 1-25, February.
    3. Zaiyang Li & Hassan Swedy Lunku & Shaohua Yang & Jonathan Bakadila Ngoma, 2025. "Closing the vicious poverty gap: the role of digital technology and financial progress in mitigating income inequality in sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 299-332, August.
    4. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2023. "The role of financial inclusion in moderating the incidence of entrepreneurship on energy poverty in Ghana," Journal of Africa SEER Centre(ASC) 23/016, Africa SEER Centre(ASC).
    5. de Moraes, Claudio Oliveira & Cruz, Guilherme, 2023. "What do we know about the relationship between banks and income inequality? Empirical evidence for emerging and low-income countries," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    6. Jamil, Abd Rahim Md. & Law, Siong Hook & Mohamad Khair-Afham, M.S. & Trinugroho, Irwan, 2023. "Financial inclusion and economic uncertainty in developing countries: The role of digitalisation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 786-806.
    7. Alexandra Horobet & Maria-Alexandra Dalu & Iulian Marinescu & Lucian Belascu & Sofia Adriana Dumitrescu & Ioannis Kostakis, 2025. "Financial Inclusion, Technology, and Income Inequality in Europe," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 27(68), pages 1-93, February.
    8. Marta de la Cuesta-González & Cristina Ruza & José M. Rodríguez-Fernández, 2020. "Rethinking the Income Inequality and Financial Development Nexus. A Study of Nine OECD Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    9. Borja Rivero Jiménez & David Conde-Caballero & Lorenzo Mariano Juárez, 2022. "Technological Utopias: Loneliness and Rural Contexts in Western Iberia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-15, April.
    10. Simplice A. Asongu & Amarachi O. Ogbonna & Mariette C. N. Mete, 2024. "Marriage as an argument for energy poverty reduction: the moderating role of financial inclusion," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 24/031, African Governance and Development Institute..
    11. Han, Linsong & Li, Xun & Xu, Gang, 2022. "Anti-corruption and poverty alleviation: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 150-172.
    12. Oscar Chiwira, 2021. "The Co-Integrating Relationship between Financial Inclusion and Economic Growth in the Southern African Development Community," Eurasian Journal of Economics and Finance, Eurasian Publications, vol. 9(3), pages 170-188.
    13. Marcello Cosa, 2025. "Can MSMEs Foster Inclusive Growth? Evidence From Poverty and Inequality Dynamics in Latin America and the Caribbean," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(6), pages 8225-8241, November.
    14. Leo M. Doerr & Wolfgang Maennig, 2025. "Globalization in the Food Sector and Poverty," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 37(5), pages 934-964, October.
    15. Barbara Barbosa Neves & Jenny Waycott & Alexia Maddox, 2023. "When Technologies are Not Enough: The Challenges of Digital Interventions to Address Loneliness in Later Life," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 28(1), pages 150-170, March.
    16. Shanika Thathsarani & Wei Jianguo & Mona Alariqi, 2023. "How Do Demand, Supply, and Institutional Factors Influence SME Financial Inclusion: A Developing Country Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    17. Oyewole, Oluwatomisin J. & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh & Adekoya, Oluwasegun B. & Oliyide, Johnson A., 2024. "Energy efficiency, financial inclusion, and socio-economic outcomes: Evidence across advanced, emerging, and developing countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    18. Larisa V. Iureva, Margarita S. Marfitsyna, 2024. "Assessing the Effectiveness of the Internal Control System of Russian Universities," Journal of Applied Economic Research, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 23(2), pages 551-573.
    19. Sima R. Dey & Bishwajit Basak, 2024. "The impact of migrant remittances on poverty reduction in Bangladesh," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 253-272, September.
    20. Adella Siti Nursaliyawati & Siskarossa Ika Oktora, 2022. "Simultaneous Relationship between Financial Inclusion, Economic Growth, and Income Inequality in Sulawesi Island, 2011–2019," Economics and Finance in Indonesia, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, vol. 68, pages 132-148, Desember.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:pophec:v:22:y:2023:i:4:p:441-469. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.