A study from the University of Birmingham states that free internet access must be considered a human right. People who don’t have access to internet lack meaningful ways to influence the lawmakers and politicians who are shaping their lives and have less access to information.

The study found that the internet is a moral human right. A moral human right is based on universal interests that are essential to living a minimally decent life. A topic must be fundamentally important to be considered a right. The study authors argue that everyone should have unmonitored and uncensored access to the internet and internet access should be free for those who cannot afford it. Without the internet, citizens don’t have a meaningful way to hold their rule makers and institutions accountable for their actions and they don’t have a say in the rules that are being made. While being online doesn’t guarantee rights, it certainly helps.

Many basic freedoms in modern countries are taken for granted, like freedom of expression, freedom of information and freedom of assembly. Access to the internet is a major part of those freedoms in today’s digital age. The internet is also protecting basic human rights, like life, liberty and freedom from torture.

Free speech and access to information are heavily dependent on internet access since most politically relevant information lives on the internet. Practicing free speech is a key part of internet access.

There are many examples of political revolutions in which the internet was a key player. During the Arab Spring, the internet allowed citizens to speak out on government corruption and created a new way to report on government corruption. People in the United States are using the internet to document police violence against African Americans. During the #MeToo campaign, citizens used the internet to spread awareness about sexual assault done by men in power and demand justice for their victims.

Some countries have already committed to making the internet accessible to their citizens. Kerala, an Indian state, recognized that universal internet access is a human right. Their goal is to provide free internet to its 35 million citizens in 2019. The European Union launched Wifi4EU, a project aimed at providing Europeans with free internet access in the main centers of cities and towns by 2020. Global internet access is part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This goal will deliver universal internet access to developing nations.

The biggest challenge universal internet is facing is cost. As technology is decreasing in cost, more places are starting to get the internet, but internet expansion has slowed in recent years, which raises the costs of providing internet. For universal internet to be successful, there should be international intervention.

Most basic internet actions, like web surfing, do not require a lot of money. Politically important tasks, like blogging, research, email and joining virtual groups, can all happen with cheap internet access. Web compliant phones and public internet provisions, like computers at a library, can help people get online for free.

The study was published in the Journal of Applied Philosophy.