As digital content creation expands rapidly across Ghana, legal and digital marketing experts are calling for the urgent enactment of a comprehensive national Digital Media Policy to protect children from online exploitation, data privacy violations, and long-term psychological harm.
The experts warned that while social media platforms offer unprecedented commercial opportunities, the lack of tailored digital media regulations specifically targeting children leaves young influencers and minors exposed to unmonitored digital footprints, cyber-bullying, and unauthorized commercial profiling.
The recommendations were shared during the latest edition of The High Street Talks by The High Street Journal, an X Space panel discussion which centered on the theme “Content Creation vs The Responsibility of Creating it: Who is Protecting Young Influencers.”
The session featured Maximus Ametorgoh, a social media coach and digital marketing strategist, alongside Legal Counsel Desmond Israel, a legal practitioner.
The Call for a National Digital Media Policy and Legislative Reform
While Ghana possesses broader electronic communications and cybersecurity laws, experts stressed that the country lacks a dedicated digital media policy designed to regulate how content involving minors is produced, shared, and consumed.
Digital marketing strategist Maximus Ametorgoh emphasized that existing legislative frameworks must be supplemented with actionable digital media guidelines that define statutory age limits and enforce screen time controls.
“We need a digital media policy… which will touch on how content is shared,” Ametorgoh asserted. He emphasized that there is a need for age limitations. For instance, noted that Ghana can choose to legislate that “you cannot do social media if you are not above 16 or 18. Some people even move it to 21 years.”
Ametorgoh cited international benchmarks where state regulations protect minors from digital oversaturation.
Device Access Caps: In jurisdictions like China, state policies restrict children to specific daily screen time limits, such as two to three hours per day.
Reverting to Analog Tools in Education: Countries like Finland are re-evaluating classroom technology by shifting back to physical textbooks instead of tablets to protect children’s cognitive development and reduce screen dependency.
Enforcing the National Child Online Protection Framework
Addressing the regulatory architecture, Legal Counsel Desmond Israel noted that Ghana’s National Child Online Protection Framework establishes a shared responsibility model among parents, educators, platform operators, and policymakers to maintain digital safety.
However, Counsel Israel pointed out that institutional breaches remain widespread, particularly in educational settings where schoolteachers record students in classrooms to generate personal social media views or ad revenue without securing parental consent.
“Even where these kids are in school and there’s no appropriate consent from parents and they are being used by their teachers to… generate revenue out of so-called content creation, all these things are potential violations that we are looking at,” Counsel Israel revealed.
Under Ghana’s Data Protection Act, capturing and processing a child’s personal data, image, or video without explicit parental or legal guardian consent constitutes a direct statutory violation.
Furthermore, under the Children’s Act of 1998 (Act 560), any activity involving a minor where commercial gain is prioritized over the child’s health, education, or development is classified as illegal child exploitation.
Organizational Protocols: Entry Disclaimers for Churches and Schools
To mitigate legal liability and protect public privacy, the resource persons outlined mandatory operational safeguards for institutions, churches, and event centers that record or live-stream gatherings.
Mandatory Entry Disclaimers: Religious organizations and event venues streaming services online should place explicit notices at auditorium entrances informing attendees that live broadcasts or photography will occur.
Designated Non-Broadcast Seating: Venues must provide designated seating zones for attendees and parents who do not consent to having their images or their children’s faces broadcast.
School Consent Agreements: Educational institutions seeking to feature students in promotional materials must execute formal consent agreements with parents, often restricting full-face exposure to protect child identities.
Household Governance: “Your Account is Not a Family Profile”
At the household level, experts urged parents to adopt strict digital hygiene policies to prevent creating involuntary digital footprints for their children. Ametorgoh warned that posting photos or videos, even on private messaging groups like WhatsApp, frequently leads to secondary sharing on public platforms like Facebook and TikTok, exposing children to profiling and social engineering.
“Your account is your account. It is not your family account. Your child is not a co-owner of your account or profile,” Ametorgoh noted.
He added that “Delete does not mean erase. Whatever content you posted is there… So we have to protect the children as such.”
Both experts concluded that establishing a safer online environment for young influencers requires a unified approach combining state policy enforcement, institutional compliance, and responsible parental oversight.
