New guidelines for regulating social media usage to ensure the safety of children

The Minister of Women and Child Affairs confirmed that the Sri Lankan government is preparing a new set of guidelines to prevent the process known as 'Kidfluencing,' which involves using children to gain commercial profit and publicity through social media. The Ministry and the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) are finalizing these guidelines with the aim of promoting a child-friendly media culture.

These new laws, drafted by an expert committee, are expected to be implemented in the near future.

This step has been taken due to existing concerns regarding parents and adults involving children in risky activities, obscene content, or material intended for adult audiences. She emphasized that exposing children to these risks by parents to gain online attention and earn income is unacceptable, and that children's privacy and welfare must be protected.

Furthermore, the Minister warned that children who are in serious danger due to irresponsible social media use should be considered a vulnerable group and may require protective interventions. International attention has also been drawn to the commercial exploitation of children online, with countries like France and the US state of California implementing legal protections regarding children's participation in online content and the management of income generated from it.

Under the new set of guidelines, measures include the necessity of securing income earned by children for their future benefit and limiting their participation in content production. She further stated that Sri Lanka's main goal is to establish a framework aimed at strengthening the protection of minors and fostering greater responsibility in social media practices involving children.