International protection of the right to freedom of expression of the child on the Internet

Abstract

The study is devoted to the analysis of the implementation of the child’s right to free expression of his opinion on the Internet information and communication network. This right is not absolute, since in some cases it is subject to limitation. These cases are not fixed in a universal international agreement, but vary in different states, therefore the child’s right to free expression of his opinion may be violated due to unjustified restrictions on this right, and vice versa, excessive freedom can lead to harm to the psychological health of the child and his development. The UN is of the view that blocking and filtering of content is a violation of the right to free expression, but blocking and filtering of inappropriate content is justified. Currently, the definition of illegal content varies in many states, and therefore the conditions for limiting such content remain inconsistent. Anonymity on the Internet is also not absolute. In a number of cases, primarily related to the protection of human rights (in the context of research, a child), service providers are required to disclose anonymous user data.

References

1. Alferova, E.V. (2018). Protecting human rights on the Internet. State and Law in the New Information Reality, 1, pp. 143–157 (in Russ.).
2. Golubok, S.A. and Timofeev, M.T. (2012). Where does freedom of speech begin and end: general comment No. 34 of the Human Rights Committee. International Justice, 3(4), pp. 32–36 (in Russ.).
3. Mochalov, A.N. (2021). The paradox of anonymity on the Internet and problems of its legal regulation. Bulletin of Surgut State University, 4(34), pp. 111–121 (in Russ.).
4. Polyanina, A.K. (2018). A study of models for filtering information harmful to children based on a comparison of approaches used in foreign countries. Bulletin of the Lobachevsky University of Nizhny Novgorod. Series: Social Sciences, 4(52), pp. 70–80 (in Russ.).
5. Sitkova, O.Y. (2021). Legal nature of the child’s right to access information and its restrictions in order to protect the child from information harmful to the mental health and development of minors. Family and housing law, 1, pp. 27–30 (in Russ.).
6. Titova, T.A. (2020). On the relationship between the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In I. P., Zinoviev (Ed.). Development of legal science in the new conditions: unity of theory and practice‑2020: Collection of reports based on the materials of the International scientific and practical conference, Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, October 23–24 (pp. 255–259). Rostov-on-Don (in Russ.).
7. Titor, S.E. (2023). International principles for protecting children from destructive information. Bulletin of the Moscow University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 3, pp. 197–198 (in Russ.).
8. Sharikov, P. and Stepanova, N. (2019). Approaches of the USA, EU and Russia to the problem of information policy. Modern Europe, 2(87), pp. 73–84 (in Russ.).