The master's thesis deals with the right to privacy of public figures in the age of the Internet. The extraordinary expansion of information and communication technologies poses important legal challenges to the right to privacy, as new technologies create and store huge databases that can - if properly connected - provide a comprehensive insight into an individual's activities, movements, habits and even personality. It is also important to be aware of the fact that due to the mass audience which emerges on various social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, …), some individuals on these networks can also be defined as public figures and therefore the criteria of who is public figure as established by the European Court of Human Rights is too broad and general and needs to be supplemented.
In the thesis I also deal with the phenomenon of public figures on social networks and present a suggestion to supplement the criteria for public figure on social media.
The framework of the protected right to privacy includes the individual's image (photographies, voice, videos) as well as, for example, the decision to change gender, medical interventions, medical care, the reputation of the individual, etc. The right to privacy of publice figures is most often violated in connection with the publication of photographies, videos, etc., in various media (including internet) and is often in conflict with the right to freedom of expression (not to mention that when speaking of the right to freedom of expression we also must take into account it's new dimensions because of the internet).
The case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the case law of Slovenian courts is otherwise clear: the privacy of public figures is narrowed because of their function, role, engagement in the public, … which all places them in front of the public eye. But at the same time it is clear that even in case of public figures when we talk about the sphere of intimacy, the right to privacy must not be violated or can be interfered only with the consent of public figures.
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