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Sharenting – Privacy concerns by the exposure of minors on social media

What happens when parents not only fail to provide special protection, but also place their children in situations that are either dangerous or have a negative impact on them? Can, or indeed should, the State intervene?

Isn’t my right today to upload or not upload photos from my infancy or childhood, affected by the fact that my parents have long ago already exercised that right on my behalf?

I remember one of the conversations I had with my daughter when she was in the early stages of her teenage years, just as she was being introduced to the world of social media. Why was I so cautious – that was the point – about the photos I posted on my own social media accounts? Why, whilst other mums were so proudly posting photos of their own children, had I – and others, of course – not posted one? A few years have passed since then, my daughter has grown up, and I can now look at the issue from a distance.

The issue of us parents overexposing our underage children online has taken on significant proportions. So much, so that over the past decade, a specific term has been invented for the phenomenon: sharenting. Although it is an English term, it has been adopted as such in several other languages. The scale of the issue is such that it has attracted the attention of international organisations such as UNICEF, and many organisations and bodies concerned with children’s rights. It has also become the subject of academic research.

Sharenting refers to the sharing of information and images of minor children by their parents. It involves frequently sharing details of a minor child’s life, as well as photographs or videos. The issue is clearly neither simple nor one-dimensional. Sharenting has legal, sociological and psychological implications.

I think the question that needs to be answered is what needs we are serving, and whether those needs serve the children and their best interests. There are cases where information is shared precisely to help the child. I am thinking, for example, of parents of children who, for various reasons, need help and support, and social media can be beneficial. Obviously, we are not talking about these cases. We are talking about cases where experts warn of the negative impact or even the risks to children. About excessive exposure, about unintentional objectification.

The first point, which I think we can all agree on, is that the concept of parenthood differs from person to person. As we often say, children do not come with an instruction manual, and every father and every mother raises and cares for their child as best they can, as dictated by their conscience and principles, and as they themselves believe is best for their child. There are no magic formulas, just as there are certainly no infallible parents.

A key aspect of this issue is legal and concerns privacy. Every adult has a right to privacy. In other words, they have the right to decide what information, images and videos relating to them they wish to share with the outside world. In my view, this right clearly extends to our childhood selves as well. But isn’t my right today to upload or not upload photos from my infancy or childhood, affected by the fact that my parents have long ago already exercised that right on my behalf?

One school of thought argues that, in all matters, it is the parents who decide for their children. Therefore, the same applies here. However, it is not quite that simple. On the one hand, the matters which parents decide on relate to issues of vital importance to the child (e.g. food, shelter, safety), or are part of their integration into society, or concern the child’s own development—physical, mental and intellectual. Personally, apart from a few rare cases, I find it hard to accept how sharenting exactly relates to the child themselves and any of their own needs.

In most cases, children may choose differently as adults, such as changing their religion.  Here, our actions are irreversible. The digital footprint is permanent. For even if a person requests that the platforms remove them from the internet – as they have a legal right to do under certain conditions – they cannot control where and how the information, photographs and videos concerning them have been stored or otherwise processed.

Finally, one point that comes into the equation is that children are not an extension of ourselves, nor do they belong to us. This is now widely accepted. Children are recognized in international legal texts as independent individuals, with their own personality, their own needs and their own rights. Due to the physical, mental, emotional and psychological vulnerability inherent in their age, they require special protection. But what happens when parents not only fail to provide this special protection, but also place their children in situations that are either dangerous or have a negative impact on them? Can, or indeed should, the State intervene?

Some countries, such as France, seem to have regulated this issue through specific legislation since 2024. Others, such as Germany, appear to be addressing it through existing legislation concerning privacy and parental care. It will be interesting to see if and how the remaining countries of the European Union will respond in the coming years.

 

Article provided by INPLP member: Alexia Kountouri (Tassos Papadopoulos & Associates LLC, Cyprus)

 

 

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