By: MarkJ - 8 March, 2010 (8:44 AM) - Score: 4137 - Statistics

A BBC commissioned GlobeScan survey of 27,000 adult people in 26 different countries has revealed that 79% believe access to the internet should be a fundamental right. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UN are already pushing for the internet to be classed as basic infrastructure by global governments, much like water and roads.

However there were strong divisions between countries regarding whether or not governments should become involved in regulating the online world. E.g. Residents of South Korea were strongly against the idea, while 55% in the UK supported it.

To be fair the question of "regulation" is not one that can easily be assessed based on a single question, which is far too general. The internet covers many areas and such questions are likely to receive different answers when focused upon specific categories (e.g. regulation of child abuse content, regulation of news content or free speech).

Most of those surveyed believed that the internet has a positive impact, such as bringing more freedom. The top three aspects of the internet that caused most concerned were fraud (32%), violent or explicit content (22%) and threats to privacy (20%). State censorship and the extent of corporate online presence came right at the bottom with 6% and 3% respectively.