Digital reality as an object of legal regulation and legal challenges in the posthumanist era

The article highlights the features of digital reality, which consist in the fact that legally significant actions in this environment can occur regardless of the physical presence of a person and traditional forms of expression of will. For example, creating an electronic document, signing it with an electronic signature, or transferring data through digital platforms acquires legal significance and becomes the basis for the rights and obligations of the participants in the relationship. Such processes require legal formalization and determination of the legal status of entities that perform actions in the digital environment. It is emphasized that the main objects of legal regulation in the digital reality include electronic information, digital traces of users, personal data, and digital identities. Ensuring the protection of these objects determines the legal status of participants in digital processes, as well as the level of their responsibility for violating established rules and norms. The functioning of such facilities is possible only if there is a combination of technical, organizational, and legal mechanisms that ensure proper information security, data confidentiality, and reliability. The article aims to demonstrate how digital reality gives rise to new types of legal relationships that did not previously exist in classical legal practice. Such relationships include legal relationships arising in the field of electronic services, data exchange in cloud systems, the functioning of digital platforms, and the use of algorithmic mechanisms capable of performing legally significant actions. These relations are characterized by high dynamism, rapid change, and transnational nature, which requires coordination of norms at the national and international levels. The transformation of the classical view of subjects of legal relations is demonstrated, when individuals, legal entities, and state bodies acquire a specific legal status. Individuals receive digital legal personality, which is manifested in the ability to use electronic services, perform actions in the digital environment, and confirm identity using an electronic signature or other digital attributes. Legal entities and government bodies act as operators, administrators, and managers of information resources, which imposes on them obligations to ensure information security, confidentiality, and protection of personal data. The study concluded that in the posthumanist era, the protection of personal data, privacy, and digital autonomy as the main elements of legal subjectivity in the digital environment are of particular importance. The processing of large amounts of information by algorithms, automated decision-making systems, and the active role of digital platforms create potential risks of human rights violations. Ensuring control over personal data, the right to transparency of algorithmic decisions, the possibility of appeal, and the protection of user autonomy are critical to maintaining a balance between technological progress and human rights.

human rights; digital reality; posthumanist era; electronic document; personal data; digital legal relations; digital technologies; digital platforms