FROM COMPLIANCE TO JUSTIFICATION: ADDRESSING DIGITAL MARGINALIZATION IN CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACIES

Resumen

This paper explores how mass polarization, social discrimination, and structural injustice emerge in the digital realm, a domain that challenges traditional legal and ethical frameworks. As digitalization shapes society, ethical and community perspectives enter debates with normative claims often hard to justify transparently. To address this, the paper engages with Rainer Forst’s philosophy and critical theory. It argues that risks of domination online cannot be addressed by technical transparency alone. Instead, they require a commitment to justification as a normative practice. Applying Forst’s idea of justificatory power, the study shows how digital technologies reinforce dominant orders. Algorithms and data infrastructures both reflect and perpetuate structural inequalities. Accountability, therefore, must be reframed beyond compliance or procedural openness. It should demand justifications that withstand reasonable scrutiny and affirm equal standing. This approach supports resisting structural injustice and advancing democratic values.

Keywords: Justification. Digital Ethics. Normative orders. Structural Injustice. Critical Theory.