Child Overexposure on Social Media: Parents as Co-authors and Legal Consequences

Abstract

The present paper aims to present the legal consequences for the holder of the custody right, in the face of overexposure of infants and adolescents on social media. Also emphasizing parental responsibilities emerged from family power towards the duty of vigilance and digital parental negligence. Family Law and the Child and Adolescent Statute are addressed, which are the legal norms that support this article. Due to the concern of overexposure in social media, this paper will discuss children and adolescents’ personal rights. Therefore, in the view of the current scenario which we live in, where children do not have a shaped life perception yet, whether concerning their civil or psychological capacity, the parents end up exteriorizing a personal life desire on the children’s lives, exposing them since they wake up (photos on social media), not worrying about present or future damage, as a result of this exposure or the lack of vigilance with regard to their children in the virtual environment. Thefore, there’s the need to analyze how parents exercise family power in order to safeguard principles such as the child’s best interest and full protection of children and adolescents, and in case of negligence which consequences would be imposed on them. So, if parents incur in civil liabilities arising from the poor exercise of family power, since they are responsible for ensuring the custody, surveillance, moral and educational development and assistance to minor children, the causes of suspension, extinction and loss of family power might fall upon them.