I think the interwebs are a great thing, but this is ridiculous,
Finland has become the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right.
Starting in July, telecommunication companies in the northern European nation will be required to provide all 5.2 million citizens with Internet connection that runs at speeds of at least 1 megabit per second.
The one-megabit mandate, however, is simply an intermediary step, said Laura Vilkkonen, the legislative counselor for the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The country is aiming for speeds that are 100 times faster — 100 megabit per second — for all by 2015.
“We think it’s something you cannot live without in modern society. Like banking services or water or electricity, you need Internet connection,” Vilkkonen said.
Finland is one of the most wired in the world; about 95 percent of the population have some sort of Internet access, she said. But the law is designed to bring the Web to rural areas, where geographic challenges have limited access until now.
“Universal service is every citizen’s subjective right,” Vilkkonen said.
This strikes me as a great opportunity for the Blogmocracy to extend its growing empire into the previously untapped rural Finnish market.
All joking aside, this is a perfect example of that perversion of the rights concept, known as “positive rights.” See, American constitutional liberty rests on the basis of “negative rights” – you are free to do what you want, for yourself, without being hindered by the government, so long as you are not harming someone else. “Positive” rights turn this on its head, and obligate citizens to provide things to other citizens, thereby placing a burden via the government onto those forced to provide (usually the productive classes). Yet another bad idea for which we can thank Rousseau.
