Internet access
In 2011, following the 17th session of its 47-country-strong human rights council, the U.N. announced that it considered Internet access a human right. Four years later, more than half of the world's population still doesn't have regular access. For all its good intentions, the U.N. has no way of forcing either the world's governments or corporations to bring connectivity to the huge swaths of the planet that remain offline. But two of the world's biggest tech companies, Google and Facebook, have taken up the challenge and launched projects to provide universal Internet access.
In 2011, following the 17th session of its 47-country-strong human rights council, the U.N. announced that it considered Internet access a human right. Four years later, more than half of the world's population still doesn't have regular access. For all its good intentions, the U.N. has no way of forcing either the world's governments or corporations to bring connectivity to the huge swaths of the planet that remain offline. But two of the world's biggest tech companies, Google and Facebook, have taken up the challenge and launched projects to provide universal Internet access.