Annotation

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the legal regime of personal data processing in the context of the Internet and social networks. In the context of digital transformation, the issues of protecting citizens' personal information have become particularly important due to the growing number of data breaches, the use of automated data collection tools (cookies, trackers), and the cross-border transfer of information. Based on Federal Law No. 152-FZ, the authors examine the key principles of personal data processing: legality, targeted restriction, proportionality, and the mandatory informed consent of the subject. Special attention is paid to the specifics of the operator's status as a social network, the obligations to localize the databases of Russian users within the Russian Federation, and the legal consequences of their violation, including the practice of bringing them to justice by Roskomnadzor. The paper analyzes court practice that demonstrates the strengthening of the protection of citizens’ rights to privacy, and also identifies systemic problems: technological backwardness of legislation, low transparency of data processing by large platforms, economic inefficiency of security measures for small businesses, and a shortage of specialized personnel. Separately, cases of data processing without the subject’s consent, permissible in strictly limited by law situations (performance of a contract, justice, public services, etc.), are examined. The authors come to the conclusion that the existing regulatory framework requires further improvement, strengthening of international law enforcement, and increasing the digital literacy of the population for effective protection of personal data in the digital environment.