The report criticized France and the United Kingdom, which have passed legislation to eliminate accused copyright infringers on the Internet. They also protested by blocking access to the Internet to quell political unrest.
While blocking and filtering measures to deny users access to specific content on the Internet, the states have also taken steps to cut off Internet access altogether. The Special Rapporteur considers that cut access to Internet users, regardless of the justification provided, including on grounds of violating intellectual property rights, is disproportionate and therefore a violation of Article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The report continues:
The Special Rapporteur urges all States to ensure that Internet access is maintained at all times, even during times of political turmoil. In particular, the Special Rapporteur urges States to repeal or amend the laws of intellectual copyrights that allow users to disconnect from Internet access, and to refrain from adopting such laws.
The report, prepared by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, comes the same day an Internet monitoring company found that two thirds of Internet access in Syria has sharply dark past, in what is likely a government response to the unrest in that country.