One Big Happy Family? The Legal Implications of Commercial Sharenting

This chapter explores the phenomenon of commercial sharenting from a legal perspective. While sharenting can have benefits, such as connecting with friends and family and providing a platform for expression, it also poses significant risks to children’s rights. The underlying business model of the platform economy, which rewards views and clicks with monetary compensation, especially for family influencers, has created a landscape in which the privacy, dignity and safety of children are potentially at risk. First, the chapter discusses the positive and negative impacts of sharenting on the rights of both parents and children. To do so, it draws upon the United Nations children’s rights framework and examines the duties of States to provide guidance to parents about their role in safeguarding children’s rights on digital platforms, the importance of the evolving capacities of the child and parents’ right to freedom of expression. In a second part, the chapter analyses relevant French legislation introducing rules which may affect commercial sharenting. Through this examination, we aim to offer insights into how legal frameworks can balance the interests of parents and children in the context of commercial sharenting while ensuring the protection of children's rights.