[tjgabbour]

I think it's similar the right to food. _Human Rights, A Very Short Introduction_ mentions that the right to food is shorthand for a complex set of obligations concerning "food security":

* Obligation to respect: Immediate, basic obligations include that a government can't undermine food security (like unjustified crop destruction and land evictions), must plan for the population's needs, and can't allow discrimination regarding access to food.

* Obligation to protect: A further level of obligation is protecting people's food security from interference by others. (This may include regulating food safety, ensuring that indigenous people with a close cultural link to land have a title to it, etc.)

* Obligation to facilitate: A further one is to facilitate food security. Like stimulating employment so people can afford it, land reform, and developing distribution and storage facilities. Or providing food or social security to those who can't work, such as the infirm.

Almost all of this could be applied to internet access.

[pmccool]

I disagree with this analogy. Without food, you _die_.