Beyond the Headlines: should internet access be declared a human right?

We speak to Berhan Taye, senior policy analyst at Access Now, and Dr Merten Reglitz, lecturer in global ethics at Birmingham University

In Iraq, mass protests erupted on the first day of October last year. People demanded an end to widespread corruption and access to basic services, like water and electricity and access to jobs. Within days hundreds of protesters were injured and there were dozens of fatalities… Then the information halted - the Iraqi government had imposed a near blackout of the internet.

Iraq is not alone. About 33 countries have tried to shut down or throttle the internet in 2019 alone. India was a leader in the practice with 121 shutdowns that year.

With a global pandemic raging, limiting access to the internet can have real health consequences. In this week's episode, we ask, should access to the internet be a human right?