Civil Legal Capacity and Competence of Minors in the Digital Environment

The digital transformation of society is accompanied by the active participation of minors in the
online environment, which creates new challenges for civil law regulation. Although the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan contains general norms on the legal capacity and competence of minors,
these provisions are not adapted to the realities of the digital environment. In particular, issues related
to minors concluding electronic transactions, processing their personal data, participation in digital
platforms, and liability for online actions remain unresolved. The lack of specific regulation leads to
legal uncertainty and risks of violation of children's rights.
To conduct a comprehensive analysis of the legal status of minors in the digital environment in
the context of civil legal capacity and competence, identify the main legal conflicts and gaps, and
develop proposals for improving the regulatory framework in line with international standards for the
protection of children's rights.
The study used formal-legal, comparative-legal, and empirical methods, as well as a systematic
approach. The legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, judicial practice, and international acts,
including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF recommendations, were analyzed.
It was found that the current civil legislation of Kazakhstan does not take into account the
specifics of digital legal relations involving minors. There is no clear regulation of the conditions
under which minors can perform legally significant digital actions (such as registration on online
services, electronic purchases, creation of digital content). Risks of violations related to manipulation
of the child's consent for personal data processing were identified. Legislative clarification of the
status of minors in the digital environment and recommendations for forming legal culture and digital
literacy among children and parents were proposed.