Michelle Obama says internet access should be a universal right while touring China
Michelle Obama, the First Lady of America, has said that the internet should be a Universal right while on a week-long goodwill tour of China, which restricts internet access
In comments, that some believe may have also been aimed at Turkey over its ban of Twitter on Friday, made during a speech delivered at the Stanford Centre at Peking University, Obama did not directly criticise her hosts, but called for a greater freedom online.
China also blocks access to social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook through its filtering system.
“It is so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the internet and through the media. My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens, and it's not always easy. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world,” she stated.
"When it comes to expressing yourself freely, and worshipping as you choose, and having open access to information, we believe those are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this planet."
Obama’s comments echo sentiment made by Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, who while speaking at SXSW, also claimed that regimes would be unable to censor the internet within the next decade.