The Flemish Christian-Democrat Party (CD&V) wants to include internet access in the constitution to make it a fundamental right for everyone.
The party submitted a bill to inscribe internet access in the constitution, which was discussed by the Constitutional Review Commission in January. Additional opinions have now been requested, and these are expected to be ready by the end of this week, De Morgen reports.
"Not being able to use a computer is the new literacy. The Internet must indeed become a fundamental right. Flanders will not wait. It wants to train and connect 100,000 people in the coming period," Flemish Employment Minister Hilde Crevits said on Twitter.
Almost 10% of the population in Belgium has no access to the Internet. Among people with a low income (less than €1,200), this rises to over 30% of the population, according to Eurostat figures.
This is partly due to the fact that surfing the internet is more expensive in Belgium than in many other European countries. Consumer protection association Test Achats found that Internet-only subscriptions are up to 30% more expensive in Belgium compared to in neighbouring countries.
The party argued that if this right is included in the constitution, policymakers will be more incentivised to close the digital gap. The French-speaking socialist party PS submitted a similar proposal.
Crises fuelled need for Internet access
The federal ombudsman service already issued an opinion to parliament calling for the right to internet access for all to be a fundamental right in July last year.
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It argued that the health crisis in particular "accelerated the digitisation of society and forced citizens to make greater use of the internet to handle many aspects of their lives and administrative procedures."
This has now been mirrored by CD&V MP and former governor Jan Briers, who told De Morgen that not only the pandemic, but also July's deadly floods and the energy crisis proved that access to the Internet should be a fundamental right.
"We must ensure that vulnerable people can use the internet at all times because companies, governments and schools really assume that all people have this."
Telecommunications Minister Petra De Sutter is reportedly already discussing the revision of social tariffs within the government, advocating for an expansion and automatic allocation of discounts for people with lower incomes.
