Technological Evolution and the Right to Communicate: The Implications for Electronic Democracy

William J. McIver, Jr.
School of Information Science and Policy
University at Albany, State University of New York
mciver@albany.edu
http://www.albany.edu/~mciver

William F. Birdsall
Novanet Inc.
Bedford, N.S.
Canada
bill.birdsall@Novanet.NS.CA
http://novanet.ns.ca

Abstract

This paper examines the intersection of human rights and communications technologies and it examines the implications of these two forces (technology and human rights) for democracy and universal access. The emphasis in the context of human rights will be the concept of communication as a human right, also known as the right to communicate.

The paper provides a historical analysis of the inter-relationships between technical advances that resulted in new communication modalities and social and organizational interests that evolved through several generations of human rights developments. These communication modalities include bi-directional, interpersonal communications supported by telegraphy and telephony; unidirectional, mass communications made possible the broadcast technologies of television and radio; and bi-directional, many-to-many communications supported by the broadband technologies of satellite, the Internet, and the World-Wide Web (Hamelink 1994, d'Arcy 1969, McChesney 1995, Mueller 1997). Three generations of human rights have been recognized in this context: civil and political rights; economic, social and cultural rights; and the emerging area of collective rights (Hamelink 1994, Marks 1981).

The right to communicate - as distinct from freedom of expression - is a concept that has been developing in various international policy and legal communities for the last 150 years. It has become a major theoretical construct underlying many contemporary issues, including universal service, press freedoms, the digital divide, public access to mass media, and the monitoring and enforcement of other human rights (see United Nations 2001). The basis for the modern conception of the right to communicate derives from the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations 1993), adopted in 1948, and more recent developments, which account for advances in communication technologies and an evolving understanding of their impacts.

Communication has come to be viewed by a growing number of theorists as a basic human right because it is a fundamental social process necessary for expression and all social organization (Birdsall & Rasmussen 2000, d'Arcy 1969, Hamelink 1994, McIver 2000, UNESCO 1980). It will also be a major focus of the upcoming World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) summit in Geneva in December 2003. Communication in this context is defined as a democratic and balanced dialogue between two or more parties. Freedom of expression can be seen as addressing the formulation and content of communication whereas the right to communicate focuses on the means and processes that are required to make and convey expression. As an example, individuals may live in a society that grants freedom of expression, but which places heavy restrictions on access to media necessary to convey expression. Individuals in such a society may need to advise others of the violation of other rights or to seek information that could affect their standard of living. The right to communicate, thus, addresses both the critical day-to-day communications needs of people, and a requirement necessary for the protection of other rights.