Is Internet access and online freedom of expression a basic
human right? The United Nations' Human Rights Council
unanimously backed that notion in a resolution on Thursday. The
resolution says that all people should be allowed to connect to
and express themselves freely on the Internet. All 47 members of
the Human Rights Council, including notoriously censorship-prone
countries such as China and Cuba, signed the resolution. China's
support for the resolution came with the stipulation that the
"free flow of information on the Internet and the safe flow of
information on the Internet are mutually dependent," as Chinese
delegate Xia Jingge told the Council in a sign that the country
isn't about to tear down the so-called "Great Firewall of
China." The concept was first affirmed by a U.N. agency, the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in 2003. The ITU
has recently come under fire after rumors arose that member
states were preparing proposals to give the United Nations more
control over the Internet ah