The Government is preparing new laws and regulations to prevent parents and other adults from exploiting children for social media popularity and financial gain, Women and Child Affairs Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj has said.
The proposed measures seek to address the growing practice of exposing children to dangerous activities, inappropriate content and other risks to attract online audiences or generate income.
Reported practices include taking children to dangerous locations, encouraging them to use obscene language, involving them in content intended for adults and exposing them to sexually explicit material.
The Minister stressed that parents who put their children at risk in pursuit of money or online popularity raise serious concerns about their ability to fulfil their parental responsibilities.
She also emphasised that parents do not have an unrestricted right to compromise their children's privacy, noting that decisions on seeking public attention and popularity should ultimately be made by individuals themselves when they reach adulthood and have the maturity to make such choices independently.
Children exposed to serious risks through their parents' irresponsible use of social media may need to be identified as children requiring protection, she said, adding that protective guardianship arrangements could become necessary in certain cases to safeguard their welfare and security.
Meanwhile, the Women and Child Affairs Ministry, in collaboration with the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), is finalising guidelines to promote a child-friendly media culture.
Prepared with the assistance of a panel of experts, the guidelines are expected to be implemented in the near future.
The proposed framework comes amid growing international concern over the commercial exploitation of children through social media, commonly known as “kidfluencing”. This involves featuring children in online content to generate income or build an audience.
Several jurisdictions, including France and California in the United States, have introduced legal measures to regulate children's participation in commercial online content. These include provisions to protect earnings generated through such activities and restrictions on the time children can be required to spend participating in content creation.
Major social media platforms have also been strengthening policies to protect minors' privacy and safety online.
The proposed laws and guidelines are intended to establish a stronger protective framework in Sri Lanka, addressing concerns over children being exposed to harm or having their privacy compromised for commercial gain or personal fame.
The measures would seek to ensure that children's welfare and safety take precedence over the pursuit of online popularity and financial benefits by parents and other adults.