Human rights and information extremism*

The article considers the urgent issue of a scientific-practical nature — the relationship between the institution of human rights and such a complex social-legal phenomenon as information extremism, which the authors consider from the standpoint of the theory of complex social systems — as one of the varieties of intellectual extremism in information society. The authors apply the axiological approach to position human rights as universal values. Therefore, information extremism is a legally prohibited activity (a set of acts, actions) in the information space, which is illegal in nature, threatens the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the individual and society, and violates human rights and freedoms. Information extremism aims at destroying and discrediting social and personal values, imposing values and simulacra that are unacceptable for the individual and society, i.e., information extremism is a universal human anti-value. Information is a construct of reality and one of social values; therefore, information extremism, which deliberately uses fake information, creates conditions for a distorted perception of reality. Thus, under the current global geopolitical and social-communicative transformations, information human rights are the main object of the purposeful and destructive influence for information extremism. The article focuses on the fact that in the contemporary pandemic realities, the human right to information needs to be significantly changed — the authors propose to develop a new charter of human rights in order to develop mechanisms for protecting information rights. Under the constant expansion of telecommunications, the growth of information flows and digitalization of almost all spheres of life, it is necessary to ensure the human right to reliable information: the UN Human Rights Committee should make an appropriate General Comment in accordance with the Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to clarify the nature and quality of information which can be sought, received and distributed according to the Paragraph 2 of this article. © V.A. Kartashkin, E.P. Bykov, 2021.