Law and science fiction: dimensions of personality rights in Black mirror’s “Be right back”

Abstract

Issues pertaining to "Law through literature" can be raised from realities created in the universe of scientific fictions. Nowadays, fictional anthologies have aroused several ethical, juridical and philosophical questions, especially regarding the impacts generated by man's interactions with social networks. An example is the episode Be right back of the British science fiction series Black Mirror, chosen as the object of the present study. The episode tells a story which allows us to reflect on the existing deficiencies in the protection of personal data in the virtual world. In this context, the present work seeks to identify, through the approach of legal aspects that involve the destination of posts made in social networks after the death of users, to identify how the Brazilian legal system has been faced with the challenges and demands arising from technological advances, with special emphasis on personality rights and limits on the provision of information and use of images extracted from social networks. The study reveals the still embryonic character of the regulation of the subject, currently made by the hosting providers themselves, which, as well as all the rights and duties that guide social relations established through the Internet, still need to be better regulated.