Internet as a Basic Right of Citizens

JAKARTA - In the digital era, the internet is no longer just an additional need, but has become an important part of people's lives. Educational activities, jobs, businesses, and public services now depend on internet access. This condition gives rise to the view that the internet is a basic need that is directly related to the rights of citizens.

Some people consider that the high cost of internet quotas can limit access to education and information. In the context of the constitution, the right to access information and educational opportunities is a fundamental right that must be guaranteed by the state. Therefore, the idea emerged that affordable internet access should be part of the state's responsibility in fulfilling people's digital rights.

The lawsuit related to internet quotas filed with the Constitutional Court reflects the increasing public awareness of the importance of fair and equitable digital access. The Internet is seen not only as a commercial service, but also as a key means of improving people's social and economic well-being.

Communication and Receiving Information

In the 1945 Constitution, Chapter XA on Human Rights contains 10 articles that regulate various types of rights, ranging from the right to life and family, the right to self-development and education, the right to law and justice, the right to personal, political, and information freedom, and the right to welfare, security, and protection. The type of rights that are the main topic in this article focuses on the right to information as stated in Article 28F of the 1945 Constitution, which reads:

Everyone has the right to communicate and obtain information to develop his or her personal and social environment, and the right to seek, obtain, possess, store, process, and transmit information using any available means.

The nomenclature "all types of available channels" can be interpreted broadly in accordance with the development of time, namely the internet media. The internet can now be used by everyone to search, obtain, own, store, process, and convey information. In fact, in its development, the internet is not only used as a medium to convey the right to express opinions, but is widely used for other human rights, for example the right to education and teaching, the right to benefit from science and technology - including art and culture, the right to work, the right to associate and assemble, and the right to health services, as explicitly recognized and guaranteed in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution.

From the description, the internet must be interpreted comprehensively to measure how it affects social life when the internet is restricted, with one of them restricting the quality of the network and its reach. The internet cannot be seen from one dimension, but is multidimensional. Restrictions on the internet network that have implications for the difficulty or even inaccessibility of information have serious implications for several types of citizen rights that are indirectly restricted.

Further provisions regarding the right to the internet network can also be drawn from the provisions of Law Number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights. In the third part of the law, it regulates the right to develop oneself, one of which is the right to communicate and obtain the necessary information, the right to seek, obtain, possess, store, process, and convey information, and the right to develop and obtain the benefits of science and technology. Even further - as explained above, this right to the internet network can be expanded with the substance of the citizens' need for the use of the internet, such as the right to obtain education, the right to associate and assemble, the right to express opinions in public, and the right to decent work.

So important is the right to the internet network that if we dissect it from the perspective of human rights and the constitution, then cutting off the internet network has serious implications for violating the human rights of citizens. Further described, those who are harmed by the termination of the internet network are not limited to one or two people, but a large community in a certain region. This means that this violation of rights has a collective impact, so it becomes a problem that is - of course - serious.

The United Nations ensured that access to the internet is a human right after the UN Human Rights Council issued a resolution, Thursday (5/7), which stipulates that everyone must be allowed to access and express themselves on the internet.

The 47 members of the UN Human Rights Council, even including China and Cuba, which are known for their very strict censorship of the internet, signed the resolution.

Internet access as one of the basic human rights was first affirmed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2003. The concept of internet freedom is also supported by a number of cyber figures, including Tim Barners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web (www).

"The Internet is an empowerment for humanity, so that humans are always connected at high speed and without limits," Bernes Lee said in an interview with BBC on

Lecturer at the Department of Communication Studies, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia, Tania said that to advance the digital community, UGM provides solutions such as digital intelligence courses, digital literacy, and AI policy advocacy. "All of this is done to overcome the digital divide and increase technology literacy," said Tania.

Andianto Haryoko Coordinator of Ecosystem and Utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Directorate of Electricity, Telecommunications and Informatics, Ministry of PPN/Bappenas also gave the same opinion. According to him, Bappenas emphasized the need to improve ICT infrastructure and human resources (HR) as well as develop digital literacy and digital support platforms. "These steps are aimed at creating an inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem for all Indonesian people," said Andianto.