Abstract

In this paper, I provided a justification for human right to the Internet access by using Beitz’s theory of human rights. Contrasting to the naturalistic human rights theory that place the normativity of rights on a group of basic values that are derived from the universal human nature, the practical concept of human rights proposed by Beitz grounds the normativity of human rights concept on both the basic interests that are supposed to protect and the political role it is expected to play in current human right practice. I argued that Beitz’s conceptualization of human rights is much more inclusive for new potential rights, as his human rights theory gives great deal of normative weight to the actual human rights practice. Since the current human rights practice in political arena strongly suggests the human right to the Internet access, I tested the potential human right to the Internet access through the criteria composed by Beitz, and argued that Beitz’s theory could be very supportive for arguing human right to the Internet access.

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