Legal regulation of access to information: comparison of Russian Federation and abroad

Abstract

In 2019, lawmakers made another attempt to update the Civil Code, making it adequate to modern requirements in general, civil society and the digital economy in particular. The article evaluates these amendments as insufficient. The authors of the publication analyze the history and trends in the formation of legislation governing the Internet and digital society in the United States, the European Community and the Russian Federation. We have to admit that against the backdrop of successes in the development of the Internet, laws are aimed not at accelerating them, which is indicated, including in decrees of the President of the country, but at containing them. The article highlights the general trend in the development of foreign legislation: the search for the optimum between the growth of information provided by the government about its activities and reasonable secrecy, including the confidentiality of personal data, observance of commercial and state secrets. It also analyzes the information content of the sites of government and public administration institutions in Russia.