DIGITAL HUMAN RIGHTS AS A NEW PARADIGM OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS: THEORETICAL AND LEGAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the concept of digital human rights as a new stage in the development of the system of individual rights and freedoms, to determine their legal nature, content and role in ensuring human rights in the conditions of the digital transformation of society. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks – to reveal the concept and essence of digital human rights as a new category of modern legal science; – to clarify the essence of the most debatable digital right – the right to be forgotten (Right to be Forgotten); – to investigate the process of transformation of traditional human rights and freedoms under the influence of the development of digital technologies. The methodological basis of the study is a complex of general scientific and special legal methods of scientific knowledge. The application of the dialectical method made it possible to investigate the evolution of digital human rights in the conditions of digital transformation of society. The formal legal method revealed the concept, features and legal nature of digital human rights. The system-structural method was used to determine the place of digital rights in the system of human rights and freedoms and their classification. The comparative legal method made it possible to analyze the provisions of international legal acts, the legislation of the European Union and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. The generalization method was used to formulate conclusions and determine the prospects for the development of the concept of digital human rights. Results. As a result of the study, it was established that digital human rights are a natural result of the development of the information society and the digital transformation of the state, and their formation reflects the current stage of evolution of the system of human rights and freedoms. The generalization of scientific approaches made it possible to define digital rights as a set of legal opportunities of a person that ensure the implementation, protection and exercise of fundamental rights in the digital environment, and also cover rights whose emergence is directly due to the development of digital technologies. It was established that two main approaches to their understanding have been formed in modern legal doctrine: as a transformation of traditional human rights in the conditions of digitalization and as an independent group of rights that arose in connection with the development of digital technologies. It is substantiated that one of the most debatable digital rights is the right to be forgotten, the content of which is to ensure a person's control over his own personal data, digital history and reputation. Analysis of the provisions of the GDPR, the practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights has shown the gradual formation of international standards for its implementation. It has been proven that digitalization has significantly transformed the mechanisms for the implementation of traditional human rights, primarily the rights to privacy, freedom of expression, access to information and protection of personal data. The practice of the ECHR confirms the evolutionary approach to the interpretation of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which ensures the effective extension of its guarantees to digital legal relations and contributes to the formation of modern European standards for the protection of digital human rights. Conclusions. The study showed that the digitalization of social relations has led to the transformation of the modern system of human rights and the formation of the concept of digital rights. It was established that two main approaches to their understanding have been formed in the legal doctrine: as a new form of implementation of traditional rights in the digital environment and as an independent group of rights, conditioned by the development of digital technologies. It is substantiated that these approaches are complementary. Particular attention is paid to the right to be forgotten, which ensures a person's control over personal data, digital history and reputation and is based on a balance between the right to privacy, freedom of expression and public interest. An analysis of the practice of the ECHR confirmed the evolutionary nature of the interpretation of the Convention, which ensures the extension of its guarantees to digital legal relations. The conclusion is made about the need for further development of Ukrainian legislation in accordance with European standards for the protection of digital human rights.