Internet Access as a Basic Human Right: An Ongoing European Legal Debate?

Authors

  • Adelina-Maria Tudurachi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54148/ELTELJ.2024.2.61

Keywords:

Internet access, fundamental rights, threefold conflict of values, freedom of expression, freedom to conduct business, copyright-related rights

Abstract

The pervasive use of Information and Communication Technology has inevitably interfered with human rights worldwide. This persistent interaction has led to questioning the legal nature of Internet access itself: is it an autonomous right or an implicit right? This paper examines the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in order to assess whether Internet access is today a basic human right. The Strasbourg jurisprudence stems mainly from applications based on freedom of expression and the right to education. The ECtHR applies the binary axiological test: the right for which protection is sought and the competing interest/right provided by the European Convention on Human Rights. So far, it has not explicitly recognised the right to Internet access but rather the Internet’s widespread usage and importance. The Luxembourg case law constitutes proof of the economic dimension of the Union since the CJEU applies a threefold test, depending on the piece of legislation basing the application, and takes a moderate approach to questions involving human rights. Thus, the complementarity of ECtHR and CJEU case law proves that Internet access rather facilitates the exercise of other rights than is an autonomous right. For this reason, limitations are assessed on a case-by-case basis according to the requirements associated with each conventional right’s specific restrictions.

Author Biography

Adelina-Maria Tudurachi

Dr Adelina-Maria Tudurachi, LLM/Master’s Degree within the Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest and the Faculté de Droit, Université Paris 1–Sorbonne. ORCID iD: 0009-0001-9455-827X.

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Published

2025-01-20

Issue

Section

Symposium