Peculiarities of civil law protection of honor, dignity and business reputation on the internet as objects of the right of an individual to information regarding himself

Abstract

The article defines the concept of information about an individual as an object of civil rights. The author analyzes the state of legislative regulation of the relationship between the concepts of “personal information” and “personal data”. The basic principles of information relations are highlighted. The issues of the right to privacy in the context of technological progress and digitalization are outlined.The author examines and analyzes a whole range of controversial issues which arise for both civil theorists and practicing lawyers and attorneys-at-law (barristers) on the issues of protection of honor, dignity, and business reputation of individuals on the Internet, including the grounds for legal relations around protection of an individual’s honor, dignity, and business reputation. The article provides a general overview of the conceptual framework and theoretical foundations of the legal definition of honor, dignity, and business reputation of an individual. Particular attention is paid to the issue of defining negative and unreliable information, as well as the legal nature of the appearance and dissemination of such information on the Internet. Also, author research the conceptual foundations of the mechanism of protection of individual’s rights to honor, dignity, and business reputation. The author also pays attention to identifying the shortcomings of the legal regulation of the protection of these rights.The article highlights the specifics of practical issues arising for an individual who is trying to protect personal non-property rights to honor, dignity, and business reputation, which are violated because of posting information on the Internet which, in the individual’s opinion, is not unreliable. To this end, author has reviewed and analyzed several different court decisions (cases) of various instances (from local courts up to the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights).The author makes a logical and consistent conclusion that such legal categories as honor, dignity and business reputation belong to the objects of the right of an individual to information regarding himself. The author offers general recommendations on the choice of legal instruments and methods for protecting an individual’s honor, dignity, and business reputation on the Internet.