The article aims to indicate the most important issues facing an individual wishing to protect his or her privacy on the Internet. It also describes the evolution of the concept of the right to privacy, which over the years has become one of the most important subjective rights reflected both in the Polish Constitution and in the legal acts of the Council of Europe and the European Union. The text also demonstrates the approach to the issue of the right to privacy taken by both the Polish constitutional and international judiciary. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, in the cases of Dupate v. Latvia and Brother Watch and others v. United Kingdom, dealt with both the publication of photographs of a public figure taken surreptitiously in a private situation and mass surveillance. The Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, in its judgments, has often referred to the issue of the protection of telecommunications data, including the question of access by state services to such data (H.K case) and the rights and obligations created by Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter (Kärntner Landesregierung and Digital Rights Ireland Ltd case). The European Union authorities, reacting to the increasingly widespread problem of data flows on the Internet, decided to enact the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The article describes the most important objectives and tasks to be fulfilled by this legal act. In addition, the main problems associated with the use of new technologies such as cybercrimes, cyber surveillance, data theft, as well as cryptojacking and the functioning of APTs (Advanced Persistent Threat), i.e. skilled hacking groups, are also indicated.
Vavrick’s judgment against the Czech Republic, issued by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, raises the issue of the obligation to vaccinate children imposed by the law of the Czech Republic. The Court simultaneously examined five complaints concerning the refusal to admit children to kindergarten due to their non-vaccinations and one concerning a father of two children who was fined an administrative penalty for failure to comply with a statutory obligation. The applicants alleged violation of the right to respect private and family life (Article 8 of the ECHR) and of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 9 of the ECHR). The Court therefore examined whether the interference in the form of an infringement of physical integrity was justified, examining whether it was lawful, justified by a legitimate aim and whether it was necessary in a democratic state ruled by law. Ultimately, the Tribunal supported the position that there had been no violation of the provisions of the Convention, explaining that it was a response to an urgent social need, and the choice of the measure chosen by the Czech legislator was supported by appropriate arguments. Moreover, the judges stated that despite the existence of a legal obligation, vaccination was not compulsory.
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