The threats from the "Caucasian community" against Kodzaeva revealed the problem of countering online bullying.
Improving legislation, a unified approach to the assessment of digital evidence, and strengthening inter-agency cooperation are necessary for a systematic response to online bullying, analysts interviewed by "Caucasian Knot" stated, commenting on the reaction of the authorities in North Ossetia to the threats from the "Caucasian community" against blogger Karina Kodzaeva.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the head of North Ossetia, Sergey Menyaylo, assured journalist Ksenia Sobchak that he personally controls the actions of law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of Beslan resident Karina Kodzaeva, who has faced attacks from the "Caucasian community".
Beslan resident Karina Kodzaeva published a video on social media featuring an explicit dance in front of the camera. The administrator of the telegram channel "Caucasian community" accused her of insulting traditions, threatened to make her entire family apologize, and published the girl's home address. Journalist Ksenia Sobchak stood up for Kodzaeva and demanded that the head of North Ossetia, Sergey Menyaylo, respond to calls for violence against women, investigate the activities of the "Caucasian community", and block its channel.
Political journalist Ruslan Totrov viewed the reaction of the authorities in North Ossetia with skepticism. "The fact that Sergey Menyaylo took control of the situation, as indicated in the official letter from his administration, absolutely does not mean that he was forced to do so. Let’s not forget that bureaucratic nitpicking implies a certain two-way communication, so they could not ignore such an appeal, especially from Ksenia Sobchak. This is purely a bureaucratic story," Totrov told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
Such situations are unlikely to correlate in any way with the anxiety index of residents regarding persecution and threats on the internet, Totrov believes.
"Despite the fact that in Ossetia in recent months and perhaps in the last few years, such stories have certainly increased, the republic is by no means at the forefront of online persecution, harassment, and all sorts of similar online hysteria in the North Caucasus. Ossetia is still an absolutely herbivorous region in this sense," Totrov said.
Such cases require a systematic response from the authorities, Totrov noted. "They always require it, as long as we are talking about blatant attempts to resolve issues in an unlawful manner <…>. This does not concern only Ossetia. We must determine. Either we are a rule of law state, but one where law enforcement works both ways. Or we are the infamous Wild West in its worst manifestations, but then we do not need these state institutions at all," the journalist said.
Online bullying violates the right to privacy, honor, dignity, and good name, as well as the right to personal security, noted a human rights defender who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"As for protection from the state, it creates mechanisms for protection, but in practice, their effectiveness is often limited. On the one hand, there is the law "On Personal Data" (No. 152-FZ), articles of the Criminal Code that provide for liability for threats, defamation, violation of privacy, and Roskomnadzor can consider complaints about violations of the personal data law. On the other hand, there are problems with the complexity of proving, as information can often be deleted before the fact of the violation is recorded by a notary. Moreover, the court does not always find it easy to draw the line between freedom of speech and violation of others' rights. Plus, law enforcement may lack resources for these cases. Therefore, to improve the situation, legislation needs to be improved so that the elements of crimes are more clearly defined, a uniform system for assessing digital evidence is formed, and inter-agency cooperation is strengthened to combat crimes on the internet," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
In the case of online bullying, rights to personal dignity, honor and good name, privacy, and protection of personal data may be violated, noted lawyer Kondrat Gorishniy.
"The fact that the girl herself published the video does not mean consent to the dissemination of her address, phone number, information about relatives, and other information that she did not publicly disclose. The views of certain individuals on "modesty" also do not give them the right to persecute a person, threaten them, or interfere in their private life," he stated to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
There is no separate composition of online bullying in the law, so specific actions should be assessed, Gorishniy emphasized. "Public insults on the internet may entail liability under part 2 of article 5.61 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation ("Insult").
Dissemination of knowingly false defamatory information may constitute defamation under article 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
If threats of murder or causing serious harm to health were made and there were grounds to genuinely fear their implementation, liability under article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Threat of murder") may be possible. For public threats on the internet, the law provides for imprisonment of up to five years, noted Gorishniy.
Illegal dissemination of information about private life under certain conditions may fall under article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of privacy"), and illegal circulation of personal data obtained unlawfully may fall under article 272.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Illegal use and/or transfer, collection and/or storage of computer information containing personal data, as well as creation and/or ensuring the functioning of information resources intended for its illegal storage and/or dissemination"). In other cases, administrative liability for violations of personal data legislation may be possible.
If publications were aimed at humiliating the dignity of women specifically on the basis of gender, law enforcement agencies should also check for signs of article 20.3.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation or, under appropriate circumstances, article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity"), the lawyer explained.
In the presence of signs of a crime, law enforcement agencies are obliged to conduct an investigation in accordance with articles 144-145 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation: to identify the authors of the publications and threats, the source of personal data, to record digital evidence, and to give a legal assessment of each episode, noted the lawyer. "If there is a real threat to the girl's safety, state protection measures provided by law may be applied, including even before a criminal case is initiated," he noted.
Law enforcement agencies should not limit themselves to merely blocking the telegram channel "Caucasian community", emphasized Gorishniy. "Blocking the channel may stop further bullying, but it does not replace the investigation.
Deleting the channel does not negate actions already taken. If there are signs of crimes or administrative offenses, it is necessary to identify specific offenders and resolve the issue of their liability. At the same time, liability should be individual: mere subscription to the channel, participation in discussions, or a person's position do not constitute an offense," he concluded.
"Caucasian Knot" currently does not have a comment from Karina Kodzaeva. She declined to provide one, explaining that the incident with the "Caucasian community" is already a "closed issue" for her. Kodzaeva noted that all the goals she pursued within this topic have been achieved.