In early July 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) expanded the list of fundamental human rights to include the freedom to use the Internet without restriction. A corresponding resolution was adopted on this.
The initiative to secure the free right to use the Internet was made by Sweden, which submitted a draft resolution for consideration by the UN HRC. Attempts to consolidate the right and transfer the operation of fundamental human freedoms to the Internet have already been made in the past. In 2011, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe tried to pass such a declaration through the UN. However, Russia, the Republic of Belarus and a number of other states voted against it, which perceived the provisions set out in the declaration as interference in their internal affairs.
The UN resolution on freedom of speech on the Internet says that the rights and freedoms of the individual should be equal in real life and in the world wide web.
The official communiqué on this document was read by the US Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton. She noted that not all countries citizens have access to the free flow of information and news. In some countries, the authorities not only restrict it, but also interfere with the activities of Internet users, there are cases of political persecution for recordings made on their own pages on social networks or for text messages published on the network.
The authors of the resolution criticized such actions of the authorities and expressed their conviction that the adopted document will become a new step by the UN in the fight to protect human rights and freedoms online, will help to guarantee the citizens of different countries freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and freedom to confidential information.
The document says that human rights cannot be infringed on the Internet more than in other areas. The network is not a zone free from the laws that are adopted in each country. This is relevant because there are precedents, even in democratic countries, where the authorities are trying to regulate the Internet zone with local acts that violate national constitutions and the universal declaration of human rights. In particular, these acts may override privacy, personal correspondence and freedom of speech.
During the consideration of the provisions set out in the resolution, representatives of 47 states voted for the final document. Russia, China and India spoke out against its adoption. However, the representatives of China then nevertheless supported the majority, but with the proviso that users should be protected by administrative methods from "harmful" information that spreads on the Internet.
