The Nationalist Party will today file a motion in Parliament calling for the inclusion of four new digital rights in the Constitution.

The Private Member’s Bill will propose a number of amendments to include the right to access to the internet, access to information, freedom to share information without interference from the State, and informational self-determination.

The Bill was outlined by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil as he visited the university’s ICT faculty yesterday.

He said the right to informational self-determination allowed citizens to decide what personal information would be shared with third parties.

The overriding principle that should guide the State in the area of digital rights was to have the fewest restrictions possible. These restrictions, in a democratic country, had to be justifiable, open and transparent.

The overriding principle was to have the fewest restrictions possible

Dr Busuttil said the government should also ensure that all children have full access to the internet – possibly through social benefits given to vulnerable families.

More measures were also needed to strengthen ICT access for disabled people, he added.

There should also be the principle of net neutrality, which calls for internet service providers and governments to treat all data equally, without discrimination or differential charges, in all the laws on electoral communications, Dr Busuttil said.

The four digital rights were first proposed in 2012 under the previous PN administration, in the wake of a protest expressing concerns about the online repercussions of the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA). The PN also included them in its electoral manifesto.

A number of EU states, including Spain, France, Estonia and Latvia, have already made the right to internet access a human right. In those countries, the right has forced internet service providers to provide every unconnected home with rudimentary internet access.

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