Hybrid Regimes and the Right to Access the Internet – Findings from Turkey and Russia in the Context of the Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Authors

  • Gergely Ferenc Lendvai

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54148/ELTELJ.2024.2.87

Keywords:

human rights, European Court of Human Rights, Turkey, Russia, right to access the Internet, digital divide, hybrid regimes

Abstract

The liaison between authoritarian political governance and Internet access is complex, particularly in hybrid regimes like Turkey and Russia. This paper focuses on the right to access the Internet as perceived by European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law involving the two aforementioned countries, examining the balance between political interests and individual rights. Through comprehensive case comparisons, the present research outlines tensions between European human rights principles and the actions of hybrid regimes. The paper’s focal point lies in examining multiple landmark cases from Turkey and Russia to trace the evolution of ECtHR judgments on Internet freedom. Moreover, the paper reflects on broader implications, questioning whether ECtHR decisions enhance individual rights protection in the digital age and suggests avenues for improving Internet governance in hybrid regimes through international legal mechanisms. The paper is methodologically founded on a comprehensive literature review and legal case comparisons. The findings reveal a critical endangerment of right to access the Internet, most notably in Russia, whose withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights exacerbates concerns over freedom of expression and digital rights protection. In Turkey, frequent Internet blockages and legal reforms continue to erode digital freedoms. This research proposes that, despite ECtHR’s rulings aimed at reinforcing individual rights, the broader implications remain unresolved as hybrid regimes persistently challenge and undermine the principles of human rights protection in the digital age.

Author Biography

Gergely Ferenc Lendvai

Dr Gergely Ferenc Lendvai, PhD Candidate, Pázmány Péter Catholic University and Research Fellow at the University of Richmond. This paper was supported by the Rosztoczy Foundation Scholarship, the project 149657_ADVANCED_24 provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund and the Hungarian Hungarian State Eötvös Scholarship. ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3298-8087.

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Published

2025-01-20

Issue

Section

Symposium