El derecho a la honra y la calumnia perpetrada mediante medios digitales.

Abstract

The right to honor has been increasingly threatened by the spread of slanderous expressions through the use of digital platforms and social networks. These forms of attack on people's reputation and prestige seem to have found in virtual media a favorable environment to expand. The objective of this research was to analyze the current regulation and legal treatment of the right to honor in Ecuador in the face of slanderous conduct perpetrated digitally. Through qualitative documentary and descriptive methods, the regulations, doctrine and jurisprudence related to the protection of this right and its collision with freedom of expression were studied. The results show that, although there is a solid legal framework that condemns attacks on honor, gaps persist due to the particularities of viral diffusion and the global reach of slander spread in digital environments. National jurisprudence shows a still incipient and poorly adapted application of criminal offenses to this context. In conclusion, it is necessary to strengthen legal protection against digital slander, including legal reforms, application of exemplary sanctions and the development of the "right to be digitally forgotten" as a remedial mechanism when defamatory content is spread through the Internet and social networks. Precisely, the growing phenomenon of the spread of slander and defamatory content through digital platforms and social networks represents one of the most pressing legal challenges today, which requires comprehensive responses from the different areas of law.