The missing link: Reclaiming connectivity through human rights

Despite decades of global efforts to bridge the digital divide, 32% of the world's population remains offline - and the most marginalised are the hardest hit.

On paper, policymakers recognise that internet connectivity is fundamental to human rights. Yet in practice, they treat the internet as a commercial service governed by market principles. This creates a system dominated by large corporations that, by prioritising profit over people, directly undermine the very rights that connectivity is meant to enable.

ARTICLE 19's new report shows how current connectivity strategies are reinforcing digital inequality and calls for a fundamental shift in focus: from market expansion to human rights.

The choice is clear: continue with market-first approaches with the same group of companies that have failed for decades, or embrace rights-based solutions that put communities at the centre of digital infrastructure development.

It's time to build an internet that truly serves all people.

Read the report

'The missing link is the deliberate result of how infrastructure is built and governed. Every fibre cable that stops short of a rural community, every spectrum licence auctioned but never used, every regulation written for markets instead of people - these are the gaps that leave entire communities offline. Until impact is assessed in terms of rights denied - and not only profits foregone - billions will remain disconnected.'

- Raquel Renno Nunes, Senior Program Officer (Connectivity), ARTICLE 19