KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 – The use of children as content on social media without their consent violates their privacy rights and can lead to long-term negative psychological effects, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) said.
Protect and Save the Children (PS The Children) reiterated in a statement that children have a fundamental right to privacy as outlined in Article 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that protects them from arbitrary interference with their personal lives and ensures their dignity is upheld.
“The norm of placing “children under the gaze” of public scrutiny compromises their rights to privacy and bodily autonomy.
“Non-consensual sharing of photos and videos not only impacts their self-perception but also teaches them that they lack control over their own images and narratives,” the NGO said.
PS The Children also voiced its concerns about the prevalence of children being used as content for social media postings particularly on Tiktok as it not only compromises the child’s personal privacy and autonomy but also poses significant risks related to normalisation of grooming behaviours.
