Persona vulnerabile, ambiente digitale e obblighi di protezione

The article investigates the possible interpretation of the term “digital vulnerability”, which has recently entered the legal debate, despite its elusive meaning and uncertain boundaries. It is questioned whether it is not rather the structure of the digital environment that should be considered a “space” potentially capable of giving rise to or aggravating the multiple vulnerabilities faced by the people who relate within it, by increasing the risk of manipulation of private autonomy and individual self-determination. Once the limits of the traditional model of the rational consumer and unfair commercial practices have been criticized, muchgreater effectiveness should be seen in the obligations to protect, especially under the most recent normative acts of the European Union, which burden the digital companies towards their users, alongside the duty of information, in order to prevent the exploitation of the various situations of vulnerability in the digital space.