The Internet-aided protests around the world last year have raised questions about whether Internet access is or should be a civil or human right. Over the past few years, courts and parliaments in countries like France and Estonia have pronounced Internet access a human right.

But Internet pioneer Vinton G. Cerf says that argument, however well meaning, misses a larger point: technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself. “It is a mistake to place any particular technology in this exalted category, since over time we will end up valuing the wrong things,” he said.

“Improving the Internet is just one means, albeit an important one, by which to improve the human condition. It must be done with an appreciation for the civil and human rights that deserve protection — without pretending that access itself is such a right.”