The next generation will soon have the power to scrub the digital footprint their parents created for them without consent.
Teenagers could soon reverse the privacy damage caused by ‘sharenting’ under a new Children’s Online Privacy Code (COPC), mandated by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 and set to be finalised by the end of the year.
It means that upon turning 18, a person can request that a social media platform erase their personal data, giving them the power to pull the plug on the digital archive their parents built.
Sharenting is where parents, grandparents, or caregivers share news, images, videos, and personal information about a child online, often without consent or the child’s knowledge.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is behind the ‘right to deletion’ move.
“The COPC will help protect the handling of children’s personal information by telling regulated entities who run online services, like apps, games and websites, likely to be accessed by children, how to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs),” a OAIC spokesperson told news.com.au.
Pause before you post
In a report released in November 2025, stats showed that young people and children want the ability to be in control of their digital decisions.
“Overall, 60 per cent of children and young people told us that they want to be in control of their personal information by understanding what personal information online companies have about them, and to have the option to change and delete that personal information,” the spokesperson said.
“Other advice received from this consultation included that parents and children want privacy policies which are short and simple to read, for platforms to put a stop to nudge techniques which influence children’s choices, as well as location tracking being automatically set to off by default.”
The move will extend on the work already done in the social media space following the Under 16s social media ban, with these new powers set to begin on the 10th December – the first anniversary of that ban.
Australia isn’t the only country having discussions about the future impacts of sharenting.
Several countries across Europe have tightened laws around privacy in recent years, while a case in Austria saw a woman successfully sue her parents in 2016 for sharing her childhood photos extensively without her consent.
A powerful ‘pause before you post’ campaign went viral in Ireland at the end of last year, illustrating the distance content can travel.
The ad follows a young girl at a shopping mall with her parents, where she is confronted by strangers who somehow know her name and other private information about her life.
One asks about her birthday and how she is enjoying soccer, leaving her mom asking, “Do you know that man?”
“Every time you share their life online, you risk sharing their personal data with the world,” the ad warns ominously.
Social media responded to the campaign with praise.
“Adults need advertisements TELLING them to ‘think before they do’. What world am I living in right now?” one questioned.
“This is why I stopped posting photos or info online about my kids years ago,” another said.
“Scary but a good one,” a third added.
Former child abuse detective Kristi McVee says the move is a step in the right direction, but shouldn’t be mistaken for a total fix.
“We know that once content is shared, screenshotted, or distributed on encrypted platforms, full erasure isn’t always technically possible. So while a ‘right to deletion’ is empowering symbolically and practically, it must sit alongside prevention-focused measures: strong default privacy settings, location tracking off by default, and genuine transparency about how children’s data is collected and used,” McVee told news.com.au.
“From a child safety perspective, the most important shift is cultural – putting children’s developmental needs ahead of platform growth and engagement metrics. The overwhelming support from young people wanting control over their own data tells us something very clear: they are aware, they want control, and they want boundaries.”
She says government legislation needs to mirror reality.
“If this legislation simply gives 18-year-olds a mop to clean up digital harm after it’s occurred, it’s a start, but we’ve also potentially missed the mark with keeping them safe in the first place. If it forces platforms to build safer environments from the outset, then it’s a meaningful reform,” she said.
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