Systemic Contradictions in the Conceptual Apparatus of Information Law: Problems of Normative and Technical Regulation

Abstract

The dynamic development of information relations, coupled with a lag in doctrinal understanding, has led to a critical imbalance, whereby normative technical documents (GOSTs) are replacing normative legal acts. This trend, characterized by a blurring of the boundaries between legal and technical regulation, poses a threat to the implementation of the principle of legal certainty and uniformity of terminology in information law, requiring
an immediate scientific and regulatory response.
The study is based on a structural and comparative legal analysis of a specially created database, ‘Conceptual Apparatus of Information Law’, which includes 3270 definitional entries. Through statistical processing and semantic comparison of definitions contained in federal laws, regulations, and standards, levels of terminological inconsistency were identified and systemic contradictions were classified.
The dominance of technical regulation over legal regulation was established: 73.9 % of terms are enshrined in technical documents and only 6.3 % in federal laws, confirming the emergence of Lex Informatica – a regulatory system based on the imperative nature of algorithms, contrary to national law. A typology of conceptual defects was developed, including logical errors, unjustified synonymy, and an ontological gap, where one term (e. g., ‘operator’ or ‘access’) is interpreted by law as a legal status, while the standard interprets it as a functional role or process.
It was demonstrated that the fragmentation and semantic polysemy of key categories generate a hierarchical contradiction, expand the scope of administrative discretion, and hinder the protection of the rights of information sphere subjects. The study substantiates the need to implement an institutional mechanism for harmonizing legal and technical terminology at the rulemaking stage to restore the priority of legal norms over technical regulations in the context of the data economy and the digital transformation of the state.