International legal regulation of rights and freedoms on the Internet
Authors: Sarakutsa Maria O. , Piliuk Suliko V. 
Published: April 2022

The Internet, viewed as a global information and communication network, has several significant characteristics. It facilitates the exchange of information, information is transmitted through communication networks, its number is practically not limited either by volume or by spheres of interest. The Internet, which is not owned by any state or organization, unites various information systems and telecommunication networks without national restrictions. The consumers of the transmitted information can be any subjects-users of the network. Most of the rules on the basis of which the Internet functions are protocols that allow the network to remain operational according to a variety of parameters. Taking into account the named characteristics, the Internet cannot remain outside the legal space. Therefore, the important question is at what level and who should determine the legal parameters for the functioning of the Internet. Is it possible to regulate only by international law due to the global nature of this network. To what extent does the national legislator have the right to regulate Internet governance issues? What should be the correlation between the norms of international and national law in this area? To what extent is its self-regulation permissible.  The issue of legal regulation of the Internet is also important because of the need to consider the information and communication network as a means of realizing almost any human rights. Where there are rights, there are obligations and there is always the possibility of their violation. Thus, the possibility of realizing rights and freedoms via the Internet and at the same time the existence of a huge number of violations of these rights and freedoms confirm the need for the adoption of legal acts of different levels in this area. It seems that the on-net regulation (self-regulation) by the Internet community of relations in the network will not ensure freedom of the information space, will not establish clear rules of behavior for network users, in particular, because recommendations, resolutions, and other acts are not universal and obligatory for users, in including states. Therefore, in recent years, one can hear more and more often that in the sphere of regulating Internet governance issues, the adoption of acts containing, in particular, international legal standards that are binding on the national legislator is required. Gradually, international Internet law is being formed, designed to regulate general issues of Internet governance, relations between states in this area, measures of control over the use of the Internet and, most importantly, the observance of citizens' rights in it. Proposals have been made for the adoption of a Universal Declaration of Digital Rights, a Convention on the Safeguards and Protection of Human Rights in the Digital World, or a Digital Constitution. Or, perhaps, we should simply recognize the completed stage of the formation of the fourth generation of rights related to the information and digital revolution, and regulate the content of these rights, guarantees of their implementation by a new international document.