Right to Privacy and Freedom of Expression in the Digital Era in Relation to Elected Public Figures

Abstract

Within the human rights protection system at both international and national system, there are several rights that might be and usually get into a clash of interaction if applied at the same time. One of the common examples is a clash between the right to privacy and freedom of expression. Both are important in relation to the protection of personal identity and autonomy and both concern development of every human being. Nevertheless, if there is a clash, one has to decide which one is given priority. This study aims to analyse the protection of these two rights in case of such a clash between them occurs. Since there has already been a lot of studies dealing with this clash, this study therefore limits its focus on two issues, namely first, specificities of the digital era and second, elected public figures have been identified as a particular subject of research because of a chosen specific case that has been under judicial scrutiny in Slovakia during the period of analysis of the research topic of the right to privacy in digital age. Striking a balance in which both these fundamental rights are protected is challenging, especially in the digital era. The focus is therefore given to the background and case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic when necessary to point out some specific features because of the stimulating case-law and the influence that these judicial authorities have in relation to the Slovak Republic. Finally, it is submitted that the online human rights protection should meet the same conditions as the offline one, keeping in mind all the circumstances that are typical for the digital world.