From Avatars to Algorithms: The Evolution of Personal Non-Property Rights and Digital Asset Governance in Italy and the European Union

This article identifies a dual shift in Italian and EU private law under digitalization. Personality rights are “constitutionalized”: from scant civil-code rules to a dignity-centred framework protecting name, image, reputation, and digital identity (including avatars and post-mortem profiles). Data protection remains a fundamental, non-proprietary right with safeguards against solely automated decisions. Concurrently, digital intangibles (cryptocurrencies, NFTs, virtual items) are cautiously integrated into patrimonial law through analogies on property, transfer, and succession, aided by MiCA and comparative reforms. EU instruments (GDPR, DSA, DMA, Data/Data Governance Acts, AI Act) effect “digital constitutionalism,” embedding rights and accountability while preserving an inalienable core of personhood.