The Brazilian Senate is considering a proposed Constitutional amendment that would make Internet access a right for all citizens, according to El Nuevo Herald. Sen. Rodrigo Rollemberg, author of the proposal, wants to make the government responsible for providing Internet access to everyone.
According to Rollemberg, the Internet has become an important tool for personal, intellectual and professional growth of citizens. He said the initiative is necessary given the "precariousness" of web access for poor students and people from less-developed regions of the country.
Rollemberg cited the study "Pencil, Eraser, and Keyboard," conducted by researcher Julio Jacobo Waiselfisz, that notes the difference in Internet access between public and private schools in Brazil. Similar digital divides exist between the richest and poorest in the country.
Rollemberg also pointed out that Brazil is 69th among 193 countries in terms of Internet access, according to 2008 data from the International Unit of Telecommunications. He referred to the lack of access as a "digital apartheid."
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
