By Joan Barata
When we talk about minors and media and communication platforms—and here we can include both traditional media such as radio and television, and even cinema, theater, social networks, messaging systems, and video-sharing platforms—the general tendency, from a political and legal perspective, is to adopt a defensive stance or one of protecting the rights and interests of minors from potential threats or harm that may arise from their use or consumption.
While this approach is correct and necessary, it is often the only one, and therefore insufficiently comprehensive of the need for adequate promotion and advocacy of the rights of children and adolescents within the public sphere. It is therefore not only a matter of protecting the range of rights that international law and national legislation grant minors from potential violations or attacks, but also of ensuring their genuine promotion so that their exercise is as broad and effective as possible. It is necessary to view and treat minors as citizens or as persons endowed with human dignity in the broadest sense that the law grants to this concept, without prejudice to the understanding and acceptance, obviously, that certain aspects of this legal status may be subject to special treatment for reasons related to their degree of maturity and capacity to act autonomously.
In any case, it is essential to abandon an adult-centric position regarding the discussion, definition, and application of norms and public policies in this area. Any debate on the scope and delimitation of the rights of minors in the field of communication requires the adequate recognition and articulation of appropriate channels that allow for their direct and active involvement. Consequently, measures and instruments that can be formulated exclusively by the adult world are not sufficient. Likewise, it is necessary to avoid an exclusively state-centric vision that prevents guardians and custodians from making decisions and determining, together with the minors in their care, the services and activities available to them, as well as relevant aspects of their use (time, support, etc.).
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Joan Barata is a Senior Legal Fellow for The Future of Free Speech. He works on freedom of expression, media regulation, and intermediary liability issues.