Review on the Topic of Internet Access in Prison on a Comparative Level: Between Theoretical Recognitions and Practical Challenges

Abstract

Taking the moves from the premise that access to the Internet plays a fundamental role for the development of the human person, this study focuses on a particular category of (potential) Internet users – namely, individuals deprived of their liberty –, in the context of certain legal systems that view resocialisation as an essential element of the sentence execution phase. At the same time, where a compatibility between the possibility of accessing the web and the state of detention is to be recognized, a necessary balance must be found between the development of the human personality and security. The analysis will begin with the Italian case, then explore, firstly, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, and, subsequently, the framework for Internet access in prison as configured in those States where such access is viewed as a freedom (such as Belgium, Spain, and France) and in those where it is elevated to a social right (such as Finland and Norway).