The No-Nonsense Guide to Communication Rights and the Internet

The guide examines the intersection of communication rights and the Internet, arguing that while the Internet has the potential to be a 'global commons' and a tool for social justice, it is currently undermined by digital divides, surveillance, and corporate dominance. It highlights the shift of advertising revenue from traditional media to tech giants and the rise of 'surveillance capitalism' and the 'precariat' in the gig economy. The document calls for civil society to advocate for a communication ecosystem governed by human rights and democratic principles rather than for-profit logic.

• The right to freedom of expression is a necessary but insufficient starting point for communication rights; it must be supported by other rights, such as the right to participate in one's own culture and language, privacy, and education, to be fully realized.
• Despite its potential as a global commons, the Internet is currently characterized by significant digital divides, with 3.5 to 4 billion people lacking access, a gap likely to widen as developed nations move to 5G networks.
• The digital revolution has weakened traditional media organizations by shifting the global advertising market to companies like Google and Facebook, which hold a 63% market share (approximately USD $61.6 billion per year).
• The Internet has facilitated new forms of economic and social instability, including the rise of the 'precariat'—young people in a gig economy lacking labor protections—and 'surveillance capitalism' driven by the monetization of user data.
• Linguistic imperialism persists online, with English accounting for approximately 30% of all content despite native English speakers making up only a small fraction of the global population.
• The majority of critical Internet infrastructure and services are owned by private sector actors, resulting in limited public control over resources essential to societal functioning.

APA

World Association for Christian Communication (n.d.). The No-Nonsense Guide to Communication Rights and the Internet. https://new.waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/wacc-global/Images/Articles/2019/09sep/nng%20int%20and%20cr8-web.pdf

Chicago

World Association for Christian Communication. The No-Nonsense Guide to Communication Rights and the Internet. n.d. https://new.waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/wacc-global/Images/Articles/2019/09sep/nng%20int%20and%20cr8-web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Association for Christian Communication |title=The No-Nonsense Guide to Communication Rights and the Internet |url=https://new.waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/wacc-global/Images/Articles/2019/09sep/nng%20int%20and%20cr8-web.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldassociationforchristiancommunicationndnononsense, author = {{World Association for Christian Communication}}, title = {{The No-Nonsense Guide to Communication Rights and the Internet}}, institution = {World Association for Christian Communication}, url = {https://new.waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/wacc-global/Images/Articles/2019/09sep/nng%20int%20and%20cr8-web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }