Personal Data in the Mechanism of Criminal Law Protection

Relevance. Ensuring the effective protection of an individual's personal data is of high and enduring importance. Despite the efforts made, in Russia the situation in this regard is deteriorating every year more and more incidents with the leakage of personal data of millions of citizens occur. All this not only generates distrust in the efforts of the state to build a digital economy and e-government, but also acts as a powerful determinant of a number of other crimes (primarily against property).

The purpose is to obtain new scientific knowledge about the features, problems and prospects of the criminal law protection of personal data of an individual.

The objectives of the study is to identify the problems of implementing the mechanism of criminal law protection of personal data of citizens.

Methodology. The methodological base of the research is made up of general scientific and particular scientific methods of cognition of reality, such as analysis, synthesis, induction, formal-legal, abstract-logical and others.

Results. In the course of the study, statistical data on the dynamics of infringement on personal data in Russia, law enforcement practice available in the public domain, doctrinal sources and analytical materials were analyzed, interviews were conducted with specialists. Taken together, this made it possible to formulate original provisions that develop the domestic theory of criminal law, to develop recommendations aimed at overcoming the problems of law enforcement in cases of infringement of personal data.

Conclusions. Digitalization has led to an increase in social tolerance for violations in the field of inviolability of personal data and privacy. It seems promising to implement a model of differentiation of criminal liability depending on the number of victims of the disclosure of personal data. The mechanism of criminal law protection requires improvement in terms of the development of biometric data technologies. The significance of such personal information requires a differentiated approach to establishing responsibility for illegal actions in relation to biometrics.

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