Protecting children’s right to privacy in the social media sphere: sharenting in the European law perspective

Keywords: children's right to privacy, children's personal data protection, sharenting, EU Charter, European Convention on Human Rights, GDPR, social media

Abstract: This article explores the issue of sharenting from the perspective of European law. To this end, it first defines the concept of sharenting and summarises the impacts and potential risks for minors associated with this practice. It then analyses the relevant EU legislation and addresses the question of whether content shared through sharenting is content falling under the concept of the right to private and family life within the meaning of Article 7 of the EU Charter or personal data within the meaning of Article 8 of the EU Charter or the GDPR. In the next section, it examines the approach of Article 8 ECHR and the relevant caselaw of the ECtHR, from which it draws general principles and considers the direction of the ECtHR's reasoning in the case of sharenting-related disputes. In the last part, the article presents some examples for the protection of privacy and personal data of minors of advanced legislation of EU Member States and outlines so-called good practices that could serve as inspiration for legislators in the process of strengthening safeguards for minors to protect their rights.

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