In Italy parents may have to do this Think twice before posting pictures and videos of your children on social media.
On March 21, 2024, a non-partisan coalition presented a bill to the Chamber of Deputies to protect children’s online privacy and their right to their own image.
Following a recent French law, the proposal aims to regulate a growing digital problem known as “sharenting,” an English abbreviation between “share” and “parenting,” meaning the practice of oversharing content depicting children on social media platforms.
What is “sharenting” and why does Italy want to regulate it?
Just go to social media to see tons of stories from moms, dads, and families sharing every aspect of their lives with their audience. Some accounts are using pictures of their children as a marketing ploy to secure their share of an industry expected to reach $24 billion by the end of 2024.
European parents share an average of 300 photos of their children every year. The practice becomes particularly dangerous when parents want to benefit from this content.
Content featuring children can receive up to three times more engagement and views than adult-only content. He explained that children serve a social function to help accounts gain more followers and interactions, thereby increasing their commercial value.
The massive online presence of children This happens long before they can be legally present on these platforms, i.e. from the age of 13. An even bigger problem is that children never consent to their image being shared or exploited. The proposed law is intended to remedy this.
The draft law on sharenting in Italy
The three-article bill was signed by the coalition between Green Europe (Europa Verdi) and the Italian Left (Sinistra Italiana). will not ban parents from sharing images of their children online, but will instead seek to mitigate the risks.
The first article stipulates that parents must officially report the online use of their children’s image to the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM). If there is a direct benefit from these activities, The parents must transfer the money to a bank account in the child’s name, which the child can access after turning 18.
However, baby influencers and children of politicians and celebrities are not the only young people whose parents excessively share every moment of their lives on social media.
Despite the good intentions behind this over-sharing, most parents share highly sensitive information about their children on a daily basis without realizing the security risks involved.
Lawmakers are also putting pressure on tech companies to crack down on sharenting by introducing stricter policies for account holders.
Children’s right to digital oblivion
Another important concern for Italian lawmakers is the psychological impact that sharenting has on young people. Generation Alpha (those born between 2010 and 2025) is actually the first generation to have to deal with a publicly accessible digital library from their childhood in adulthood.
The law is intended to serve this purpose Give today’s children back the right to be forgotten and introduce the possibility of applying for “digital oblivion” after turning 14.
