Participation of Minors in the Creation of Media Content: Problems of Forming and Protecting a Child's Digital Identity in the Framework of Family Law

Abstract

Introduction. The digital transformation of social relations has led to the active involvement of minors in the creation and distribution of media content through social networks, video hosting services, blogs, and other digital platforms. Children's participation in media activities contributes to the realization of their creative potential and the right to self-expression, but it also poses new risks of violating children's rights and legitimate interests, such as the dissemination of personal data, the creation of a digital footprint, the commercial use of minors' work, and interference in their private lives. The current legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain a comprehensive legal regulation of these social relations, which necessitates a scientific analysis of the issue and the development of proposals for improving the family-legal mechanism for protecting children in the digital environment.Purpose. To develop a theoretical and legal model of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of minors in their participation in the creation of media content and to substantiate the need to form a family and legal mechanism for protecting a child's digital identity.Methods. The study was based on the dialectical method of cognition, formal legal, system-structural, comparative legal, and logical-legal research methods, as well as methods of analysis, synthesis, and legal modeling.Results. It is substantiated that the participation of a minor in the creation of media content is an independent type of socially significant activity for a child, affecting a wide range of their personal non-property and property rights. The author proposes a definition of a minor's digital identity as an independent object of family law protection. The gaps in the current legislation regarding the distribution of media content involving children, the protection of their digital image, and the management of income derived from the use of media activities are identified. Proposals for improving the family legislation of the Russian Federation have been developed.Conclusions. In the context of the digitalization of social relations, ensuring the protection of a minor's digital identity should be considered as an independent aspect of implementing the principle of prioritizing the interests of the child. The need to enshrine in family legislation the obligation of parents to ensure the protection of a child's digital identity and to consider the long-term consequences of disseminating information about a minor in the digital environment is justified.