Can We Keep Human Rights Up To Date With Technology?
Jan 11 2009 
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Lynda Hurst from the Toronto Star asked a simple, yet ridiculous (imo) question yesterday: “Is a cellphone a basic human right?”
Plain and simple: No, it’s not. Neither is my iPhone, laptop, & internet service. We’d all love if they were though! In my opinion, air and water are the only basic human rights that are actually given to us. They’re the only things that are available just about anywhere for free (except the water to a certain degree). You have the right to have a cellphone. However, I don’t feel that the government is obligated to give you one for free.
I discovered this article via Mark Evan’s blog where he voices his opinion on the topic. Once again, I disagree for many of the same reasons that Mark does. Don’t we have other things that are more important for our government to focus on making a right let alone a privilege? Health-care anyone? Health-care seems more to me like a blessing.The argument for giving these cellphones away for free seems downright backwards to me.
“Studies have shown lack of telephone access is a huge problem for those who’ve fallen by the economic wayside. They can’t get callbacks if they’re job searching and risk confidence-killing isolation. "Back in the 1980s, people were asking for a basic telephone allowance within welfare assistance," says Torjman. "But it was decided not to do that.”
Economic wayside….that’s a nice way of putting poverty. As a young woman who grew up in the economic wayside, a cellphone is the last thing I would be thinking about.
The Better Question, Yet To Be Answered
“How do you keep human rights up to date with technology?” is the better question posed by Sherri Torjman, Vice-president of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. Can we do that? Can we truly keep human rights up to date with the ever changing and rapidly expanding field of technology? I’d love to hear your responses to this question instead!
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Not that I want to take away from the importance of healthcare as a human right, but I have a simple question to ask. The FCC, through its Universal Access Fund, is charged with ensuring that everyone in the US has telephone service. In fact, many countries throughout the world have similar legislation.
So… why does it matter that the phone is a landline? Why, when youth are rapidly abandoning landline's altogether, does it matter that the phone that the FCC regards as a right is wired or wireless?
Cheers, A
Ridiculous, I think. Even in Canada, we still have people who live in the worst of conditions yet folks are talking about cell phones as a human right? Ugh.
Sometimes I think that we're so engrossed in technology that we forget about humanity the REAL LIFE struggles of those less fortunate.
In response to Alec's comment regarding national legislation about telephonic service, I must say a few things about basic human needs, shelter is one of the three (clothing and food the remaining 2/3rds). For quite some time, this human necessity- shelter- has included a way to be contacted by the government, and ideally, by a company or companies intending to hire a person at a residence. While some companies may contact a person via USmail/post, most companies require a person or persons to be available via phone to be gainfully employed. In fact, some companies expect a person to be available to be reached outside of normal business hours.
Alec points out, rightly, that the FCC mandates telephone service for each individual. While perhaps unnecessary to have a mobile phone, it does reflect the changing times, especially as mobile phones have been increasingly instrumental in making businesses efficient, and when 66% of the US population has one, it does appear that one is at a distinct disadvantage.* Especially, if an individual is already distinctly economically disadvantaged in finding or keeping a job.
It is still debatable whether it is a necessity, although in these severe economic times, where people are scrambling to find jobs, I find that is can be more of a solution to the issue of so many unemployed individuals, rather than a hindrance.
And a note to Corvida: Your RSS Feed is on my site because my blog covers everything from human rights, politics, philosophy, and technology.
P.S. My day job is in the IT industry.
*Statistic from: http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/forums/cell_phone...
Interesting discussion Corvida and I have to agree with you. I came across a truly bizarre situation recently in which I saw a homeless person stop begging to answer a mobile phone. I made a mental note never to give that person change again… :)
But regardless, I suspect the ongoing need for food far outweighed their need for mobile communication.
Interesting discussion Corvida and I have to agree with you. I came across a truly bizarre situation recently in which I saw a homeless person stop begging to answer a mobile phone. I made a mental note never to give that person change again… :)
But regardless, I suspect the ongoing need for food far outweighed their need for mobile communication.
Interesting discussion Corvida and I have to agree with you. I came across a truly bizarre situation recently in which I saw a homeless person stop begging to answer a mobile phone. I made a mental note never to give that person change again… :)
But regardless, I suspect the ongoing need for food far outweighed their need for mobile communication.