THE DIGITAL DIMENSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: TRANSFORMATION OF THE OBJECT OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION (FROM PERSONAL DATA TO THE COGNITIVE SPACE OF THE INDIVIDUAL)

Abstract

The article examines the digital dimension of human rights through the concept of the transformation of the object of constitutional protection from personal data to the internal cognitive space of the individual. It is substantiated that the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, systems of behavioral analysis, neurotechnologies, and the practice of cognitive warfare creates qualitatively new threats associated not only with the unlawful collection of information but also with the possibility of targeted influence on human consciousness, beliefs, and behavioral autonomy.
Based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding the interpretation of Article 32 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the transition is demonstrated from the protection of individual personal data to the safeguarding of the individual’s cognitive profile, which includes digital identity, behavioral patterns, and social networks. It is emphasized that in the context of cognitive warfare and large-scale disinformation, constitutional guarantees of human dignity, privacy, and freedom of thought require an expanded interpretation as encompassing the protection of mental integrity, internal autonomy, and the freedom to form beliefs without unlawful or algorithmic interference.
Particular attention is paid to the institutional role of the Centre for Countering Disinformation as an element of the mechanism for protecting cognitive autonomy, as well as to the possibility of doctrinal recognition of cognitive autonomy as a natural right subject to constitutional protection even in the absence of its explicit normative enshrinement.