DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY: RELEVANCE AND ESSENCE

Abstract

In this article, have been researched issues related to the essence and relevance of digital sovereignty. The author primarily emphasizes the impacts of the digitalization process on public life and shows that digitalization reflects not only technological, but also social, economic, administrative, ethical, and philosophical aspects. Today, digital technologies, which have penetrated widely into the most diverse areas of public life, have a serious impact on the structure, content and nature of public relations in those areas. Factors that necessitate digital sovereignty include cybersecurity risks, i.e. the need to protect the country's information space from external interference and cyberattacks, neutralizing external influences in the social media and information environment, protecting personal data, ensuring control over digital infrastructure, technological competitiveness, etc. According to the author, digital sovereignty is not a separate type or form of sovereignty that is an alternative to state sovereignty. It is simply a manifestation of state sovereignty, which is unified and indivisible, in the digital environment (cyberspace). In the article, various approaches to the essence of digital sovereignty are analyzed, and the author’s position on the relationship between the concepts of “digital sovereignty” and “information sovereignty” is presented. In conclusion, all ideas presented and the research and analyses conducted within the article are summarized, and certain considerations are put forward.