Goh Siu Lin said such a law was warranted given the huge consumption of children’s images, videos and personal data shared by parents in the public domain, coupled with the lack of knowledge or control over their actions.
“The sharing of such content publicly violates children’s privacy and safety,” Goh told FMT, adding that such a law could also extend to grandparents and guardians of the children.
Last week, women, family and community development minister Nancy Shukri said the government was considering the adoption of a “sharenting” law as done in France early this year.
“Sharenting” refers to the practice of sharing images of one’s children on social media networks.
The French enactment, passed in February, allows the courts to prohibit parents from sharing images of their children online, and if necessary, require that a child’s consent be obtained “according to their age and degree of maturity” before images of them are shared.
Nancy said that with the proposed legislation, Malaysia hopes to make parents prioritise their children’s privacy and prevent perpetrators from misusing the content shared online.
Goh said at present, the Child Act 2001 only protected a child’s details online in the context of child sexual crimes as well as family and children’s court proceedings.
She said it was time for Malaysian policymakers to heed Article 16 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which sets out the child’s right to privacy.
Goh said a “sharenting” law would help accelerate a shift in parental mindset to fully recognise that every child has the right to privacy.
Child activist and Yayasan Chow Kit co-founder Hartini Zainudin said a “sharenting” law would curb identity theft, sexual exploitation, stalking and even physical harm.
However, she said, issues such as infringement of parental rights, enforcement challenges across multiple social media platforms and even cultural differences in what is considered appropriate for public sharing must be taken into account when introducing a “sharenting” law.
Hartini said parents could start practising mindful sharing to avoid violating their child’s privacy and further safeguard their well-being.
“Some measures include using nicknames to protect the child’s true identity, turning off metadata and geotagging to minimise the ability to track children through online photo sharing and even seeking the child’s consent (depending on their age) before posting,” she added.