5 - Poverty as a Standard Threat

Summary

The chapter determines one set of obligations of the human right to internet access using the idea of rights as social guarantees against standard threats. These obligations regard duties of provision to protect against digital poverty. The chapter first provides the statistical background on the global digital divide. Digital poverty has several causes. People lack financial means to afford (1) digital devices and (2) data services. (3) Digital infrastructure is missing especially in the poorest and most remote regions. Hundreds of millions of people everywhere lack (4) basic digital skills. The chapter sets out a global standard concerning all four dimensions of connectivity that public authorities must guarantee. It thereby specifies the first meaning of ‘free’ internet access as ‘free for those unable to afford it’. It also distinguishes between the general content and minimal core obligations of the human right to free internet access. Minimal core obligations are those all states currently can and must fulfil. The general content specifies the full set of duties that states must progressively realise if they are currently unable to do so.