EVOLUTION OF THE LEGAL NATURE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the legal nature of social networks in the context of the digitalization of social relations and the transformation of mechanisms for the implementation of human rights and freedoms. The relevance of the study is due to the rapid growth of the role of social networks as a key channel of public communication, dissemination of information and interaction between individuals, society and the state. This issue has acquired particular importance in the context of full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, when social networks have become not only a tool for informing, but also an object of influence on information security, social stability and the implementation of constitutional rights. The evolution of scientific approaches to understanding social networks is analyzed and it is established that the domestic legal doctrine is at a transitional stage of forming a holistic concept of their legal status. Existing research is mostly sectoral in nature and focuses on individual aspects of legal regulation – informational, civil or constitutional, which does not allow to fully reflect the multidimensional social and legal nature of social networks. The purpose of the article is to determine the legal essence of social networks, analyze the current legislation of Ukraine and current legislative initiatives in the field of regulating the activities of online platforms, as well as to substantiate the feasibility of using a natural law approach as a methodological basis for studying digital legal relations. It is substantiated that social networks should be considered not only as technical services or information intermediaries, but as an independent social and legal space for the implementation of freedom of expression, the right to information and other fundamental human rights, regardless of the level of their positive legal consolidation. It is concluded that further legal regulation of relations in social networks should be based on a combination of constitutional principles, provisions of natural law and European standards for the protection of human rights, taking into account the extraterritorial nature of the activities of online platforms and the prevention of disproportionate interference in digital communication.