The Constitutional Court defended a man who wiretapped his ex-wife in the interests of his son

Parental control is needed to ensure the safety of the child

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation ruled not to recognize parental control as an interference in private life. The servants of Themis made this conclusion after considering the case of a resident of Vladivostok, who wanted to challenge the constitutionality of the article of the Criminal Code on violation of privacy.

The man’s problems began after he installed a parental control application on his seven-year-old son’s phone. The man was worried that the child, who lived with his mother and her relatives after the separation of his parents, was being treated poorly. The application made it possible to hear what was happening next to the phone during certain time intervals and make audio recordings. The man presented these recordings (49 fragments of up to 20 seconds each) to the divorce proceedings and to the police as evidence of abuse of the child.

However, as a result, he himself became the object of criminal prosecution. He was accused of collecting information about the private lives of people with whom the boy lived. The result was a guilty verdict. The case moved from instance to instance, even reaching the Supreme Court. However, the verdict remained in force. The man was not punished because the statute of limitations had expired, but the residue still remained. A responsible parent decided to seek the truth in the Constitutional Court, in the hope that the article under which he was convicted would be declared illegal. And although he did not succeed, the ruling of the Constitutional Court can be considered his victory.

The judges pointed out that the article does not contradict the Constitution, but to qualify his actions in accordance with it is incorrect. The article does not imply that the parent of a minor is held criminally liable for using a legal parental control program. Of course, as a result, information about the private lives of other persons becomes available to him. But if the application and the information obtained with its help are used solely to exercise the rights and responsibilities of a parent to ensure the safety of a minor child, then there is no crime in this.

Therefore, court decisions made under this article against the child’s father are subject to review.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29198 dated January 19, 2024

Newspaper headline:
Ex-wives were allowed to be wiretapped for the sake of children’s interests