Freedom of Contract in the Digital Environment: Classification of Restrictive Norms and Their Impact on the Structure of Private Autonomy

The article examines the transformation of the principle of freedom of contract as a concentrated expression of private autonomy in the digital economy. Based on the classical attitude about the limitation of contractual freedom by imperative norms, public order and protection of the weak side, the need to take into account new factors is justified: platform regulations and technical restrictions “embedded” in the program code and interfaces. An expanded understanding of the “norm” in the digital context is proposed, including, along with legislation and judicial practice, private platform rules and algorithmic mechanisms. On this basis, a three-dimensional classification of norms restricting the freedom of contract is formed by the object of protected interest, by the source and by the mechanism of influence, and it is shown how the totality of such restrictions transforms the structure of private autonomy in online transactions. The conclusion is drawn about the preservation of the basic importance of freedom of contract in its multilevel, modern structurally modified implementation.