US Petition Demands Internet As Unalienable Right

A US group has officially petitioned the US Government to amend the constitution and make Internet connectivity an unalienable right.

Using the White House’s We The People tool, more than 6,500 users have signed a petition to protect Americans from laws that may potentially censor the Internet.

We will not be silenced

Citing the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), E-PARASITE (Enforcing and Protecting American Rights Against Sites Intent on Theft and Exploitation) and PROTECT IP (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act) acts, petitioners claim that “The United States Government is actively attempting to pass legislation to censor Internet.”

While SOPA, reminiscent of the UK’s own Digital Economy Act (DEA), moves toward ratification, it has already been widely lambasted in the press for its lack of understanding of how the Internet works and the potential harm it may do. This, at a time when many countries, including Spain and Finland,  have joined public opinion by moving towards guarantees of Internet connectivity for their citizens. Even UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, recently acknowledged its importance.

Despite this trend, and the numerous campaigns against this Act, petitioners fear that if they do not do more than simply prevent this particular act from being passed, “Future Acts of similar nature will oppress our rights. By signing this petition, you are demanding the Obama Administration to add an amendment to the Constitution that limits the power of the Government from being able to censor the Internet.”

We the people allows users to start or join petitions and have their voices heard by law-makers. The site currently has 123 active petitions from the serious, to ones requesting cookies.