Human Digital Footprints and Privacy

The article explores the constitutional and legal challenges associated with ensuring the human right to privacy in the context of collecting, storing and utilizing information derived from digital traces. It analyzes the legal nature of human digital footprints and provides classification of their types. The article highlights that the diverse nature of digital footprints subjects them to various legal regimes, all of which emerge from an individual's interaction with digital devices, computer systems, or information and telecommunications network, thereby reflecting the imprint of such interaction. The author argues that digital footprints, in most instances, contain information pertaining to an individual’s private life, a presumption that should be codified in law. Legal regulations governing the use of digital footprints should be grounded in this presumption. The author concludes that current legislation in the Russian Federation fails to account for the unique characteristics of digital traces, resulting in the unrestricted use of information left by individuals online by both security agencies and private companies. Consequently, individuals often lose control over the future of their digital footprints, which the author views as a disproportionate restriction of the right to privacy. While acknowledging that privacy is a relative concept in the digital realm, the author emphasizes it continued significance in protecting individuals from excessive control from external entities, including government authorities. For this reason, the author advocates for legal provisions that prohibit mass digital surveillance of citizens by law enforcement and security agencies, as well as restrictions on the use of digital traces by online services providers. In particular, the article proposes legislating the right of Internet users to prevent the automated sharing of certain information with website owners, as well as the right to refuse the use of recommendation technologies. 

Keywords: digital footprint; information technology; privacy; Internet; big data; personal data; digital profile