thehill.com,
Fri 09/16:
Why ‘sharenting’ is sparking real fears about children’s privacy
Story at a glance The popularity of social media has led to increasing numbers of parents and caregivers sharing photos or videos of their children, a practice dubbed “sharenting.” For parents, grandparents and caregivers, snapping a photo of their child and sharing it on social media may seem like a routine, harmless act. After all, being proud of your child and wanting to share that pride with loved ones is a completely normal and largely universal feeling. Data collection and consent
In a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs, co-author Laurel Cook, a social marketing and public policy researcher at West Virginia University, outlined the risks sharenting poses to youth. “It’s a lot more nefarious than I think [parents] realize and they are putting out this information that I would encourage them to consider to keep more private,” she said. In some cases, these footprints can begin before the child is even born. Only one law currently regulates this area of the internet, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA was first introduced in 1998 when the internet was still in its infancy, and smartphones and social media had yet to take off. Even when parents or caregivers don’t actively share their child’s information with social networks online, education apps or websites used at school could be collecting sensitive data and selling it to third-party vendors without users’ knowledge. “Sharenting really ushers children into digital life, whether they want it or not,” explained Franz. But sharenting negates the small protections these restrictions offer, and ramifications can be even greater for those monetizing their children’s likeness online. Family or parent influencers post video blogs, photos, or other documentation of their lives onto platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and others. “I really see this as a more extreme version of sharenting [that has] significantly increased over the past several years,” Franz said, adding Fairplay’s main concern is children’s healthy development in these scenarios. Although most parents who sharent have innocent motivations, those in the business for economic reasons could be putting the child at risk. “Parents and educators should not have to be experts because the platforms themselves should be designed with kids in mind,” she said, underscoring the need for legislative intervention.
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